Snap has become the latest major social media platform to settle a high-profile child safety lawsuit, joining TikTok and YouTube. The settlement leaves Meta as the only remaining defendant in a growing legal battle over the alleged impact of addictive platform features on children and teenagers. The lawsuit claims social media companies knowingly designed products that harmed young users' mental health. Legal experts believe these cases could force major tech companies to strengthen child safety protections, improve parental controls, and redesign key platform features.

Snap settles Child Safety Lawsuit | Meta left alone as legal pressure mounts

Meta faces trial in Tennessee over claims Instagram was designed to addict teenagers. This case adds to growing US lawsuits over addictive algorithms, teen mental health and platform safety. Here is why it matters

Addictive algorithms: Meta trial opens in Tennessee as Instagram accused of 'addiction machine’ design

What turns a quick social media check into an hour-long scroll? Here’s what neuroscience and psychology say about the habit and its impact on the brain.

The science behind why you keep scrolling – and how it rewires your brain

Meta has challenged a recent court verdict that held the company partly liable for social media addiction among users, arguing that the decision misinterprets how online platforms operate. The case centers on claims that design features on social media apps contribute to excessive usage, particularly among younger users. Meta maintains that responsibility for usage patterns is shared and says it will continue to appeal the ruling as debates over tech regulation and user harm intensify globally.


Meta Challenges Court Ruling Over Social Media Addiction Liability

Parents and citizens said the government should also block other harmful websites, such as pornography and online gambling sites. After Australia imposed restrictions on social media access for teens in December 2025, Spain, France, and the UK are also considering similar measures.

Indonesia to ban social media for children under 16; citizens say prohibit porn, online gambling sites too

The civil trial in California state court centres on allegations that a 20-year-old woman, identified as Kaley G.M., suffered severe mental harm after becoming addicted to social media as a child.

Instagram chief to testify as YouTube, Meta face landmark social media addiction trial

A landmark trial in California has begun against Meta and YouTube, with plaintiffs accusing the companies of deliberately designing their platforms to ‘addict’ children and harm their mental health. All you need to know.

‘Addiction by design’? Meta, YouTube accused of 'engineering addiction' in children during US trial

Australian parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act on 29 November 2024. The law bans social media account access for those aged below 16 from this December. Violations can result in fines of up to A$49.5 million per platform.

Harmful content: Australia adds YouTube to world-first social media ban for kids aged under 16. What does it mean?

Even children aged below two are spending an average of 1.2 hours on screens, whereas this age is supposed to be completely without screens.
 

Indian parents, BEWARE! Is your child spending over 2.5 hours on phones, computers, TV screens daily? That's…

Constant exposure to fast-paced, 15–60 second videos trains the brain to expect instant stimulation. Over time, this reduces the brain’s capacity to focus on long-form content or tasks requiring sustained attention.

Are you addicted to Reels and Shorts? Here's how your brain is becoming weak with every scroll

Do social media companies deliberately design their apps in a way that turns teens into addicts, warranting schools to invest resources on their mental health? And if yes, should schools be compensated for that?

US court okays lawsuits accusing Meta, Google of deploying addiction tactics on teens

We cannot escape social media and endless scrolling of photos and videos on our smartphones, once we are introduced to the practice. The same is the case with games on mobile phones or consoles.

Are you addicted to social media and gaming? Here are tips to escape the mindless scrolling

Watching YouTube shorts, Instagram reels and TikTok videos on endless scroll is a way to kill boredom for millions of mostly young people. However, a new study has found that moving from one video to the next actually causes more boredom.

Those videos you scroll for killing time might actually be causing more boredom

A man from Montreal, Canada, is filing a lawsuit against social networking platforms YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok claiming that they cause addiction and have a negative impact on mental health, as per CTV News.

Canada man sues social networking sites Meta, TikTok, and Reddit for being addictive

A person’s identity is now bifurcated into two. One is the identity we portray to our friends, family, colleagues, and partner(s) in real life, and the other is the one we carefully curate for our social media followers.

Tobacco-like ‘warning labels’ for social media soon? Is Big Tech responsible for our addiction?

'Delicate dumping' is a new toxic breakup trend that you should be aware of. "It's the cowardly approach to ending a relationship, slowly retreating to avoid difficult conversations, or even ghosting," said Emma Hathorn, who works for a dating service, told Metro.

Delicate dumping: The new toxic break-up trend

Is 13 too young to be on social media? Most platforms allow anyone above the age of 13 to sign up, but experts fear that the age criteria may be too relaxed, and the bar may be set too low. What should parents do? Allow teenagers to join social media or not? Listen in to @VikramChandra

Is your child too young to be on social media?

The first study of its sort has found a link between economic inequality and the use of social networking sites and instant messaging services. Studies show that teens from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to admit to having a social media addiction to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other platforms.

Children increasingly using social media to escape 'negative feelings': Report

An Indian-American entrepreneur hired a woman to slap him every time he logs on to the social media platform, Facebook. Maneesh Sethi is the founder of a wearable device brand Pavlok and did not want to waste time on Facebook.

Indian-American hired woman to slap him for using Facebook; Elon Musk approves

Every year on June 30 the world celebrates Social Media Day to recognise its impact on global communication and unification. One of the most important sources of communication in this technologically advanced era is social media.

Social Media Day: History, significance and all you need to know

A young woman in her early 20s walks into a restaurant at Connaught Place in New Delhi bustling with office crowd in a late November afternoon. She sits with her friend and places multiple orders at one go.

Food of Instagram: Is social media making us see food and not eat it?

The widely-famous photo-sharing app, Instagram has finally introduced a new feature call "Your Activity" to help users to keep a tab on the time they spend on Instagram.

Now, Instagram lets you check your obsession with new 'Your Activity' feature