MDL 3047 Update: 3,208 Cases After Meta's $17B State Deal

MDL 3047 Social Media Addiction Lawsuit: 3,208 Cases Pending After Meta Settles With the States

The federal social media adolescent addiction litigation, MDL 3047, had 3,208 pending actions on September 1, 2026, up from 2,893 on July 1, according to Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reports. The MDL's first trial ended without a verdict. On August 26, eight days after trial began, Meta settled the state attorneys general claims for up to $17 billion over ten years and agreed to default time limits and overnight blocks for users under 18 on Instagram and Facebook. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved the settlement later that day.

The deal pays states, not families or schools. Thousands of personal injury and school district claims are still pending in the MDL against Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube. In California state court, the second individual bellwether never reached a jury: the plaintiff known as R.K.C. dropped his claims against Meta on July 22, and Meta said he received no payment. The next Los Angeles trial, a consolidated case for two teenagers against Meta, YouTube, and Snap, is set to begin October 28.

Litigation Background and Procedural Milestones

MDL 3047 is centralized in the Northern District of California before Judge Gonzalez Rogers. Plaintiffs allege that Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube were designed to maximize compulsive use among minors, leading to diagnosed depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, and related psychiatric injuries.

The MDL has four tracks: individual personal injury suits, school district suits, the state attorneys general case, and a smaller group of cases filed by Native American tribes, according to Tech Policy Press. A parallel group of individual cases is coordinated in Los Angeles Superior Court as JCCP 5255 before Judge Carolyn Kuhl.

Federal AG Track: Trial and Settlement

California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey were the first four of 29 states to try their claims, with an eight-person advisory jury and Judge Gonzalez Rogers holding final say. Trial opened August 18 in Oakland and ended with the settlement on August 26.

Under the terms announced by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Meta will pay up to $17 billion to the states over ten years, with California's share estimated at $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion. For users under 18, Meta must set a default two-hour daily limit and a midnight to 6 a.m. block that only a parent can lift, mute notifications during the school day, stop showing like counts, and add age assurance measures. An independent auditor will oversee compliance. A Meta spokesperson told CBS News the company settled separately with Texas.

Other State AG Cases

Tennessee's separate trial against Meta in Nashville also ended with the national deal, and Tennessee will receive more than $750 million. On September 25, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced a settlement with TikTok worth at least $100 million and up to $300 million, resolving a case that was scheduled for trial the following Monday. His office said it would have been the first state trial against TikTok.

School District Track: Breathitt County and February 2027

Breathitt County School District in Kentucky was set to be the first federal bellwether, with trial scheduled for June. Reuters reported that the district secured about $27 million in settlements, with Meta paying $9 million. WKYT, citing Bloomberg, reported that Snap and TikTok each agreed to pay $8 million and YouTube just over $2 million.

The next school district bellwethers, brought by Tucson Unified School District in Arizona and Charleston County School District in South Carolina, are scheduled for February 2027.

California State Track: K.G.M., R.K.C., and the October Trial

The first JCCP 5255 bellwether, K.G.M., ended March 25 with a $6 million verdict against Meta and YouTube: $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. Snap and TikTok had settled before trial. On June 9, Judge Kuhl denied the companies' motions for a new trial and rejected their Section 230 defense. Both companies said they would appeal.

The second bellwether, R.K.C., was set for July. YouTube settled on June 24, TikTok also settled, and Snap reached a tentative agreement. The 15-year-old Florida plaintiff then withdrew his claims against Meta before trial.

In early August, TikTok agreed in principle to settle three upcoming trials. P.M.-Y., one of the plaintiffs set for an October 28 bellwether, then dropped her case. In an August 28 order, Judge Kuhl consolidated the S.J. and K.D.B. cases for one jury over Meta's objection, with trial beginning October 28 against Meta, YouTube, and Snap. Both plaintiffs have settled with TikTok. The Daily Journal reported on September 9 that Kuhl has set two more bellwether trials for 2027.

Medical Evidence in Individual Personal Injury Claims

School district cases focus on counseling and remediation costs. Individual personal injury cases need longitudinal psychiatric evidence, and defendants are pressing on treatment history. When P.M.-Y. dropped her case, a Meta spokesperson told Law.com the plaintiff "had a significant mental health condition that pre-dated her use of social media."

Screening Parameters

Screening protocols in active dockets typically verify minor platform usage, documented psychiatric injury (clinical depression, severe anxiety, anorexia/bulimia, or documented self-harm), and contemporaneous medical visits demonstrating symptom progression.

Required Medical Records

• Psychiatric diagnostic evaluations and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.
• Outpatient psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and counseling progress notes.
• Inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and crisis center intake records.
• Pharmacy dispensing records and psychotropic medication titration logs.
• School psychological evaluations, 504 plans, and counselor intervention notes.
• Primary care physician notes documenting early somatic and psychological complaints.
• Account data and device screen-time exports where available.

For analysis of earlier state-level enforcement trials, see the New Mexico $375M child safety verdict analysis.

Key Dates and Litigation Milestones

Preparing Mental Health Evidence for Active Dockets

Social media litigation has moved from Rule 12 dismissal practice to a jury verdict and multi-million-dollar settlements. The $6 million K.G.M. verdict and the roughly $27 million Breathitt County resolution sit alongside two California bellwether plaintiffs who dropped their claims against Meta before trial, one of them after Meta pointed to a mental health condition that predated her social media use.

For firms carrying these cases, that split puts the weight on the chronology. Files with complete mental health records, prescription logs, and provider histories are in a better position when a case is picked for the October trial, the 2027 settings, or settlement talks.

Mass tort medical record retrieval is a direct case expense, with itemized per-case invoices flowing through to settlement statements.

Sources: JPML Pending MDL Dockets, Sept. 1, 2026, JPML Pending MDL Dockets, July 1, 2026, California Attorney General (Aug. 26, 2026), CBS News (Aug. 29, 2026), CNBC (Aug. 26, 2026), Tennessee Lookout (Aug. 26, 2026), Alabama Attorney General (Sept. 25, 2026), Tech Policy Press (Aug. 17, 2026), Bloomberg Law (July 24, 2026), Bloomberg Law (Aug. 31, 2026), The Guardian (July 22, 2026), Law.com Recorder (Aug. 21, 2026), Los Angeles Times (Aug. 4, 2026), Daily Journal (Sept. 9, 2026), Quartz (June 10, 2026), Colorado Public Radio (Mar. 25, 2026), CNBC (Jan. 27, 2026), Courthouse News, Reuters/Yahoo (May 29, 2026), WKYT (June 1, 2026). Case counts current as of the September 1, 2026 JPML report.