$772 per case. That’s the current CPA on the #1 ranked hot tort in the country. And two defendants already settled before the bellwether verdict even landed.
Social media addiction litigation isn’t emerging anymore. It’s in full motion. 2,407 cases in the MDL. An active trial in Los Angeles.
TikTok and Snap folded before opening statements. Meta and YouTube are fighting it out in front of a jury right now.
This is the tort that rewrites the economics of youth injury litigation.
The MDL
MDL-3047 sits in the Northern District of California under Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. It consolidates claims from minors and their families who allege social media platforms caused addiction, mental health injuries, and in severe cases, self-harm or death.
Whitehardt scores it 9.9 out of 10. Number one.
The case theory isn’t complicated. Platforms designed addictive features targeting minors. Internal research showed the harm. They didn’t stop.
Instagram’s own study found 32% of teen girls said the app made body image issues worse. Meta had the data. Kept optimizing for engagement.
Lead Economics
Here’s the funnel math.
That $772 reflects fully qualified leads with documented injuries. Cost per lead before qualification runs closer to $386. The qualification rate sits around 50%, which is strong for mass tort.
Why so expensive? Not every teenager who used Instagram has a case.
The ones who do need documented mental health diagnoses, treatment records, and evidence linking platform usage to injury. That’s the screening bar that keeps CPAs elevated.
Retainer values range from $10,000 on the low end to $1.5 million or more for severe cases. Suicide attempts, inpatient psychiatric treatment, and documented self-harm histories command the premium.
What’s the MOIC? On a $772 CPA converting to a $500,000 case, that’s 647x return on intake spend. Even at the low end ($10,000 on a $772 lead), that’s 13x.
The economics work across the entire severity spectrum.
The Bellwether That Changed Everything
January 2026 reshaped the entire landscape.
On January 26, Snap settled. Confidential terms. On January 27, TikTok settled. Also confidential.
On January 28, the K.G.M. bellwether trial opened in Los Angeles Superior Court against Meta and YouTube.
Two platforms folded before opening statements. Two decided to fight.
Mark Zuckerberg testified on February 18. The jury is hearing evidence about Instagram’s algorithm, internal research on teen mental health, and the decision to keep deploying features they knew were harmful.
This isn’t theoretical anymore. Money has changed hands.
A second bellwether is scheduled for June 15, 2026. School district case. Different plaintiff class, different damages model, same core liability theory.
Who’s Spending
Broadcast leads the channel mix at 45%. Daytime TV targeting parents. “Was your child harmed by social media?” is the kind of direct-response creative that still converts on linear.
Here’s the irony: 25% of the advertising spend runs on social media itself. Firms are buying Meta ads to sue Meta.
It works because the targeting is precise. Parents of teenagers, youth mental health interests, behavioral signals. Meta’s own ad platform is funding the cases against it.
CTV is at 15% and growing fast. Parents stream. A lot. Household-level targeting lets you reach families with teenagers without wasting spend on 22-year-olds who don’t have standing.
Search captures the remaining 15%. “Social media lawsuit” and “Instagram lawsuit for kids” drive intent-based leads. CPCs aren’t cheap but conversion is strong because searchers already believe they have a case.
The 41-State Signal
Forty-one state attorneys general plus DC sued Meta in October 2023. That’s not a lawsuit. That’s a consensus.
When 82% of state AGs agree that a company harmed children, the liability question isn’t really a question anymore. The bellwether trial is about damages.
Firms advertising this tort aren’t betting on a novel legal theory. They’re riding a wave of consensus that these platforms harmed kids.
The science backs it up. The Surgeon General issued an advisory. Pew Research shows 95% of teens use social media. Forty-six percent say they’re online “almost constantly.”
Qualification Criteria
The screening matters more here than most torts. A teenager who used Instagram and felt sad doesn’t have a case.
Qualifying injuries include documented diagnoses of depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders, or suicidal ideation. Self-harm or suicide attempts. Inpatient or outpatient psychiatric treatment.
Evidence linking platform usage to the injury is the critical piece.
Age matters. Minors at the time of use. Parents sign on behalf of children still under 18.
Platform documentation is gold. Usage data, screen time records, and direct messages all serve as evidence. Firms that help families preserve this data during intake build stronger cases.
The Timing Play
Where is this tort in its lifecycle? Peak.
The settlements are happening. The trials are running. The case count is growing.
CPAs will fluctuate with bellwether outcomes but they won’t drop below $400 anytime soon. The qualification bar keeps them elevated.
What happens if the K.G.M. jury returns a large verdict against Meta? Every firm in the country starts advertising. CPAs double. The firms already running intake own the best cases.
What happens if Meta wins? The school district trial is three months later. TikTok and Snap already settled. The money flows regardless of one verdict.
The Play
If you’re running social media addiction intake, four things matter.
First, qualify on documentation. Volume is easy. Documented psychiatric treatment, platform usage evidence, and medical records separate a $10,000 case from a $1.5M case.
Second, build parent-first creative. The plaintiff is a minor. The decision-maker is the parent. Every touchpoint speaks to parental concern, not teenager experience.
Third, diversify off social. Running all your intake ads on Meta is one algorithm change from disaster. CTV and broadcast give you stability. Search gives you intent.
Fourth, move now. Two defendants already settled. The bellwether is running. The school district trial is in June.
This tort has more momentum than anything in the market. Every month you wait is a month of higher CPAs and worse case inventory.
The firms winning social media cases aren’t the loudest advertisers. They’re the ones who started intake six months ago and qualified hard from day one.
References
- In Re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3047, N.D. California
- Whitehardt Mass Tort Report: Hot Tort Rankings and Lead Economics, Q1 2026
- Pew Research Center. Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024
- U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, 2023
- Reuters. Meta faces trial over teen social media addiction claims, 2026
- State Attorneys General coalition lawsuit against Meta Platforms, October 2023