ANALYSIS: Federal MDL Trial Tests Liability for Social Platforms

The first federal bellwether trial in the Northern District of California associated with a multidistrict litigation against four major social media platforms is set for June 15. It will test the plaintiffs’ novel liability and damages theories, and its outcome will potentially help define social media companies’ legal responsibilities toward young users.

The federal litigation follows verdicts in March in New Mexico and California state courts finding prominent social media companies liable for harms incurred by minor plaintiffs.

The MDL includes thousands of claims by individual plaintiffs and attorneys general from dozens of states against Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Alphabet (YouTube), TikTok ...