Tech Companies Face Mounting Child Safety Lawsuits as AI Moves Into Schools

For years, major technology companies have assured parents that they are making their platforms safer for young users. A growing stack of jury trials, settlements and fresh litigation aimed at companies including Meta, Google and Snap indicates that critics believe those efforts have fallen short.

Several developments arrived this week. Snap reached a confidential settlement in a case alleging its technology inflicted severe psychological distress on two teenage users, following earlier settlements in the same suit by Meta, TikTok and YouTube. Google, meanwhile, was sued by parents who say their child suffered a psychological crisis after interacting with the Gemini AI chatbot inside Google Classroom.

The pressure is rising at the same time artificial intelligence firms chase trillion-dollar valuations and established internet giants spend heavily on advanced AI models while steering them into classrooms. Developmental psychologist Kate Blocker, director of research and programs for the nonprofit Children and Screens, said engagement-driven features can harm users and warrant broader systemic changes in tech design, particularly when children are using them. "I think it's so so important that children's safety is being considered when these products, AI, social media, et cetera, are being designed, and not after the fact as these problems emerge," she said.

Snap's settlement kept CEO Evan Spiegel off the witness stand in a Los Angeles courtroom and fits a pattern of companies shielding themselves from public scrutiny during a year of high-profile child safety trials, said Joseph McNally, director of emerging litigation at McNicholas & McNicholas and a former acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. The case was tied to the social media personal injury trial that Meta and YouTube lost earlier this year, with more trials expected to begin in March. McNally said he views the settlements as an attempt by tech companies to turn a corner, citing both real legal challenges and damage to the reputations of their products and companies.

A Snap spokesperson said in a statement that "the parties are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner," adding that the company has built safeguards, launched safety tutorials and partnered with experts, and that "because safety is never finished, we remain committed to continually strengthening the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community." Significant legal exposure remains, however, including a federal case involving Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube alongside numerous school districts, plus a series of state attorneys general suits. In August, Meta agreed to pay nearly $17 billion to settle with a group of state AGs in a child mental health case, and some AGs are still pursuing similar claims against Meta's rivals.

Google drew fresh criticism this week for moving too quickly. The New York Times reported Tuesday that K-12 schools that do not allow students to use Google's AI tools will lose access to search. Chris Phillips, Google's vice president for education, told the Times that "Search and AI are deeply integrated." That report coincided with the new lawsuit over a teenager's alleged suicidal crisis, which the parents attributed to Gemini. The plaintiff's attorneys allege that "despite Gemini's known risks, Google hastily integrated" the chatbot into Chromebook computers used by schoolchildren. A Google spokesperson said the company is reviewing the claims and takes them very seriously, noting it has worked extensively with medical professionals and academic experts to build features that connect young people with support and trusted resources.

Google and its peers have long relied on Section 230, the 1996 federal law that shields platforms from lawsuits over content posted by users. That protection is why plaintiffs' attorneys and state AGs have concentrated on alleged harms flowing from platform design rather than content. The same strategy is now being applied to AI companies: OpenAI faces multiple lawsuits from state AGs and plaintiff attorneys claiming the design of ChatGPT can endanger children, echoing the social media cases.

The litigation poses a growing financial risk as OpenAI weighs a potential blockbuster IPO. Rival Anthropic, which plans to go public this month, flagged the issue in its prospectus even though its Claude product prohibits child users. "This is a clear indication that tech companies anticipate more litigation risks than they did a decade ago," said Michele Neitz, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Blocker added that the highly personalized nature of today's AI chat apps makes it "a little bit unpredictable" what they will say to kids, and that products should be tested for children's developmental safety from the start, not after harms start happening. She voiced hope the wave of cases will motivate real systemic change in both regulation and internal company decision-making.

If you are having suicidal thoughts or are in distress, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor.