From tobacco to TikTok: what public health litigation history tells us about holding social media accountable

On 25 March 2026 a California jury ordered Meta and Google to pay 3m (2. 26m; 2. 59m) in compensatory damages to the family of a child harmed by addictive platform design, with punitive damages recommended on top. The same week, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay 375m following a seven week state attorney general trial. 1 2 These are not isolated verdicts, but the opening shots of potentially the largest public health litigation wave since the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998. They challenge the digital technology industry's defence that they are merely neutral platforms. This development makes the comparison to the tobacco industry no longer rhetorical but shows its structural dimension.