Case guide
Identify the app your child used and the harm you want checked. A YouTube privacy penalty does not set a child’s injury payment.
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
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.
Write down the app or service your child used. Do not assume every YouTube notice concerns the separate YouTube Kids app.
The FTC’s 2019 announcement names the YouTube video-sharing service and alleged collection on child-directed channels. It does not establish that the YouTube Kids app caused an illness. Keep the app name, account and dates together when asking a lawyer to check the facts.
The FTC announcement describes civil penalties paid to the FTC and New York. It is not a payment amount for each child’s injury.
Ask which agreement a headline names and who receives its payment. A privacy enforcement penalty does not decide your child’s damages. If someone offers your family money, ask for the actual terms and the rights the agreement would resolve.
The study asked about social media time, not one video app. It did not test YouTube Kids, autoplay or Shorts as separate causes.
The study found links with reported symptoms, not a clinical diagnosis for each participant. The Surgeon General’s review discusses broader patterns and possible benefits and harms. Ask a care provider to consider the child’s history rather than treating all screen use as the same exposure.
Keep the app names, account notices and dates you already have. Note the content and changes in daily life you want checked.
Separate what you observed from what you inferred about an algorithm. Ask a lawyer how to preserve any viewing or account history available through lawful access. Keep records of health care and school concerns in their original form.
Seek help when distress lasts weeks or affects home, school or friends. Unsafe behavior or talk about self-harm needs help at once.
Describe sleep, interests, relationships, school changes and past care to the health provider. Ask what other information would help the evaluation. In a mental-health crisis call or text 988; call 911 for a life-threatening situation.
Ask for fee terms tied to the actual app and claim. Check who pays for viewing, account and health records.
Give the firm the product name and any offer you received before asking about costs. Request written fee and expense terms, including what happens if the case loses. A government penalty in a YouTube action does not pay your legal expenses by itself.
Keep the dates and names of the video products used. Ask what filing rules apply to your child’s concern.
Distinguish the YouTube service, YouTube Kids and any separate account notices in your timeline. Ask the lawyer what history is needed and whether the firm will represent you. Do not use a date from the 2019 enforcement announcement as your family’s filing deadline.
Teens spending 3+ hours daily on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms
Rates of teen depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide increased sharply beginning in 2012 — coinciding with widespread smartphone and social media adoption
Habitual social media checking in early adolescence is associated with changes in brain sensitivity to social feedback over time
The review is free and private. Asking for it doesn’t commit you to anything.
Ask a law firm to review your caseNot from the advisory alone. It says we do not yet have enough evidence to determine whether social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents. Parents can keep records and ask a medical provider about health concerns.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory · as of Oct 7, 2026
The advisory does not say YouTube autoplay by itself causes addiction. It lists autoplay among engagement-maximizing features that may encourage excessive use and behavioral dysregulation. It does not decide causation for any one child.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General: Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory · as of Oct 7, 2026
Yes, YouTube and Google have faced an official child-privacy penalty, but the FTC case was about alleged COPPA violations, not a finding that YouTube caused addiction or injury. The FTC says the companies settled allegations that YouTube illegally collected children's personal information without parental consent. That settlement does not decide a social media addiction claim.
Source: FTC: Google LLC and YouTube LLC COPPA case · as of Oct 7, 2026
Checked against 11 primary sources by People's Justice editors · Updated
How we make moneyPeople's Justice research team · Updated Oct 4, 2026