Settlement guide
Check who a deal pays before relying on a headline. Payments to states do not set what your child could receive.
Updated Oct 4, 202611 sources
See If You Qualify
Free · No obligation · About 2 minutes
Updated Oct 4, 202611 sources
This may apply to you if
These are cited sources. Their inclusion does not imply that they endorse People’s Justice or reviewed this page.
Kira E. Riehm · Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · Lead author of the 2019 cohort study
Finding: The 2019 study linked more reported social media time with later reports of inward distress, alone or alongside behavior problems.
Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth (opens in a new tab) · Sep 11, 2019 · Checked Oct 3, 2026
California Department of Justice · Issuer of the August 2026 settlement announcement
Finding: The announcement describes a proposed agreement in the states’ case, with court approval still required in that announcement.
California DOJ: proposed Meta settlement, August 26, 2026 (opens in a new tab) · Aug 26, 2026 · Checked Oct 3, 2026
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · JAMA Psychiatry · 2019
Read the source: Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth (opens in a new tab) · Checked Oct 3, 2026
Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · 2023
Read the source: Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory (opens in a new tab) · Checked Oct 3, 2026
The process
You answer a few questions
About two minutes. Nothing is sent until you agree on the last step and press submit.
A lawyer looks at it
A lawyer at the firm reads your answers and checks them against the current case criteria.
The firm decides and gets in touch
If the firm takes your case, you get the terms in writing to read before you sign. You can always say no.
A state payment is not a price for your child’s claim. Ask for the document that sets any payment offered to your family.
The proposed judgment preserves Meta’s ability to defend individual and class claims. It does not decide your child’s damages. Keep the state action, a school case, a private injury claim and a privacy penalty separate when you compare headlines.
A civil claim asks for relief based on alleged harm. Evidence and the way the claim ends matter; use a lawyer’s assessment of your facts.
Gather treatment dates, bills and records of the loss you want checked. Ask which losses the law allows and how other causes will be assessed. A youth study cannot place a price on one child’s suffering. The 2019 study of social media time measured reported symptoms, not settlement values.
Ask for the fee agreement and cost terms in writing. A fee from a successful claim does not mean every expense is waived.
Ask about costs if the case loses and about deductions if it succeeds. The state proposal’s party-fee clauses concern that agreement’s parties. They are not the terms of the firm you might hire.
Ask whether your own claim has a signed agreement or court decision. The state proposal does not set a family payment date.
Do not build a household budget around a date from another case. Ask what steps remain, whether court approval is needed for your agreement, and who will explain any deductions. Keep notices addressed to your family and ask a lawyer to check them.
Ask which cases an average covers and where the numbers came from. A payment to a state is not a price for your child’s claim.
Compare the actual parties, legal claim and payment terms. Ask whether a number is a proposed total, an entered judgment or a payment to an individual. General mental-health research does not prove one platform caused one child’s illness.
Ask a lawyer to identify the agreement and the rights you would give up. Keep your own claim and deadline separate from news about the states’ case.
Bring the full offer, not just a screenshot of the amount. Ask which firm represents you, what the next step is, and who can answer questions before you sign. A legal time limit depends on the relevant claim and law.
The review is free and private. Asking for it doesn’t commit you to anything.
Ask a law firm to review your caseNo settlement framework has been announced for families' injury claims. Factors that usually matter in an injury claim include the strength of medical evidence (diagnosed conditions, therapy records, hospitalization), the severity of the injury (anxiety/depression vs. eating disorder vs. suicide attempt), documented platform usage (screen time data), academic impact (declining grades, attendance), the specific platforms involved, the duration of exposure, and the age of the child at onset. Cases involving death, suicide attempts, or severe eating disorders requiring inpatient treatment are valued highest. No one can promise an amount.
No one can say. No settlement program or payment schedule has been announced for families' injury claims in MDL 3047, which listed 3,824 pending actions on October 1, 2026. TikTok and Snap settled the K.G.M. case confidentially in January 2026; those terms are sealed and set no date or amount for anyone else. California's August 2026 proposed settlement with Meta is in the states' case and does not set a family payment date.
Several significant settlements and enforcement actions have already been paid. TikTok and Snap settled the K.G.M. bellwether case confidentially in January 2026. None of these payments sets what a family's injury claim is worth, and no settlement has been announced for families' injury claims in MDL 3047.
Checked against 11 primary sources by People's Justice editors · Updated
How we make moneyPeople's Justice research team · Updated Oct 4, 2026