Rochester, New York: TikTok Social Media Addiction Lawsuit

Jed Dietrich, Esq., Recognized as a Super Lawyer and American Institute of Trial Lawyers Litigator of the Year, is Committed to Defending the Rights of Rochester Families. If You or Your Child Has Sustained Physical Injuries Due to Social Media Addiction, You Deserve Aggressive Representation and an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer Willing to Fight for Your Rights.

TikTok has reached a last-minute settlement in a high-stakes social media addiction lawsuit.

Filed on behalf of a 20-year-old California woman, the lawsuit accused TikTok and other social media companies of prioritizing profitability over the safety of young and vulnerable users. The plaintiff, identified in court documents by the initials “K.G.M.,” described how she started using applications like YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat at an early age. Over time, K.G.M. found that social media overuse was contributing to her deteriorating mental health, causing depression, anxiety, and recurrent body-image issues.

K.G.M. and TikTok settled the lawsuit days before it was scheduled to proceed to trial. Since the case was never heard before a judge and jury, the settlement would not set a binding precedent.

However, K.G.M. is far from the only person to try standing up to the tech industry.

Hundreds of other lawsuits against some of the country’s largest social media companies remain pending. Each of these claims is unique, but they all make a similar allegation: that, much like Big Tobacco, social media platforms knew their products and practices posed an inherent risk. But, instead of sounding the alarm or making policies that could actually protect children, the social media industry only doubled down, continuing to introduce new features that only made the problem worse.

If you or a loved one has sustained injuries as a result of social media addiction, you could be entitled to significant compensation, too. A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firm, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent decades fighting for the rights of families in and around Rochester. We know what it takes to build a compelling, evidence-based case for damages, and we have the results to prove it. Call Jed Dietrich, Esq., today at 585-939-3939 to speak to a social media addiction lawyer near Rochester and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

The lawsuit TikTok settled in January 2026 was originally filed on behalf of a 20-year-old California woman referred to by the initials “K.G.M.” If the case had moved to trial, K.G.M. and her legal team were planning to use evidence obtained during discovery to argue that TikTok knew its products were dangerous yet failed to take any meaningful corrective action.

K.G.M. is continuing to litigate claims against several other social media companies, including Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

“The public is going to know for the first time what social media companies have done to prioritize their profits over the safety of our kids,” an attorney for K.G.M. told The New York Times.

K.G.M.’s lawsuit provided multiple examples of corporate practices that are known or believed to have a negative impact on children’s mental health. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The use of “beauty filters” on applications like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, may play a role in the development of body dysmorphia and other body-image issues;
2. The integration of features that executives hoped would “compel users to come back more and more often” by making applications more “addictive”; and
3. The release of highly-personalized algorithms that push certain types of content onto users’ feeds, including content that promotes self-harm or is otherwise inappropriate for children.

TikTok’s main defense going into trial was a contentious piece of 20^th-century legislation.

Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, technology companies cannot typically be held liable for content posted to their platforms by users and other third parties. This is a strong defense that has, in the past, been used to great effect. K.G.M.’s lawsuit, though, sought to circumvent Section 230 in its entirety. Instead of blaming the content she consumed for her declining mental health, K.G.M. argued that TikTok is liable for the consequences of its own design choices.

Health experts and regulators have long raised concerns about social media.

In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office released an advisory warning about the “potential negative impact” of social media addiction. The advisory cited studies that found that social media is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Cyber-bullying;
2. Sexual abuse and child grooming;
3. Increased levels of depression;
4. Decreased sense of self-esteem and confidence; and
5. The development of serious mental health conditions like depression, anorexia, and anxiety.

Mental health conditions can impact children’s lives in a variety of ways, making it more difficult for them to make friends, succeed in school, and feel comfortable and confident in their own skin. In some cases, mental health issues can lead to self-harm.

Every social media addiction lawsuit is different because every social media addiction lawsuit is a recounting of somebody else’s unique story. However, no matter the circumstances, most lawsuits must contain a plea for damages. In the legal field, the term “damages” is used to describe the compensation available for different types of hardship, loss, and suffering.

If you think that you could have a case against TikTok, Meta, or another social media company, your damages will likely be dependent on factors including:

1. The availability of evidence;
2. The nature of your injury and whether it is physical, psychiatric, or both;
3. The severity of your injury and the extent to which it impedes your daily routine; and
4. The laws or statutes that the defendant company allegedly violated.

Lawsuits that involve physical injuries are typically eligible for a broader range of damages.

In New York, these damages fall into the following categories:

1. Economic damages. Economic damages are compensation for verifiable financial losses. Your economic damages could include compensation for mental health counseling, a hospital visit, or lost income from work.
2. Non-economic damages. Non-economic damages compensate less tangible forms of pain and suffering. Your non-economic damages could include compensation for emotional pain and suffering, physical pain and suffering, or loss of enjoyment.
3. Punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded to punish an especially negligent defendant. In order to obtain punitive damages, you must usually establish that the social media company was in some way extraordinarily negligent.

Since founding the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. in 2005, Jed Dietrich, Esq., has helped his clients recover more than $300 million in damages. We could help you, too. Please send us a message online or call us today at 585-939-3939 to speak to a social media addiction lawyer near Rochester and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 585-939-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Rochester, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!