Exhibit - Design intent - Oct. 2011
“Make YouTube feel less like a utility and more like an addictive experience I can come back to daily.”
Guide Offsite Presentation Outline, JCCP trial exhibit 04503.
- Docket
- MDL 3047
- N.D. Cal.
- JCCP
- JCCP 5255
- Cal. Super.
The platforms designed for daily return. This is what they knew, and when.
We review cases where a young person has been seriously harmed after prolonged, compulsive social media use. Every claim we take is built from the primary record, internal documents, depositions, and expert reports, because that record is what survives scrutiny.
Practice areas
Four injuries we take seriously enough to review.
We do not handle every kind of social media complaint. These are the four where the documented design record, the internal notice, and the expert causation work line up, and where a family is most likely to be dealing with a serious injury.
Eating disorders and body dysmorphia
Appearance-focused, quantified social media is not a neutral environment for a developing teenager. This page sets out what the internal record documents about the design features, what the company knew, and how causation is…
18 experts consulted - filters - AR effectsSuicide and severe self-harm
Recommendation systems surfacing self-harm and eating-disorder content, alongside the internal "Project Daisy" record of known harm from visible like counts and the remedy that was not fully deployed.
SSI/ED content - like counts - notificationsInpatient psychiatric injury
Hospitalization, residential treatment, and psychiatric harm following sustained compulsive use, reviewed against medical records, treatment history, and the engagement-design record.
Inpatient care - residential treatment - discharge recordsSextortion, grooming, and exploitation
Underage account detection gaps, end-to-end encryption tradeoffs, and recommendation pathways that experts describe as a force multiplier for exploitation.
U13 detection - E2EE - CSAM/CSEC pathwaysThe record
Four things a case has to establish. We start with the documents.
Association between social media and youth mental health is well documented in the research. What decides an individual case is narrower: exposure, defect, causation, and damages, proved for one person.
Design
What the product did
Internal decks and correspondence describing engagement maximization as an explicit goal, including a 2017 planning document stating the objective as total teen time spent.
JCCP 00085 – Dkt. 3011-19
Notice
What the company knew
Executive testimony on whether growth was prioritized over safety, and internal research on likes and well-being.
Dkt. 3248-21 – Dkt. 3012-4
Causation
How the harm is assessed
We work from medical and behavioral chronology, alongside differential analysis of other explanations. Expert causation work in this area is genuinely contested.
Expert reports – records review
Case status
Where the litigation stands
Design, warning, and negligence theories have survived dismissal in both the federal multidistrict litigation and California coordinated proceedings. The first individual verdict is on appeal.
N.D. Cal. – JCCP 5255 – 9th Cir. Aug. 2026
What we will not tell you.
Verdicts, government penalties, and confidential settlements in this area are not a compensation program, and they do not predict what any individual family would receive. We do not publish payout figures, and no one can honestly quote you a value for your child's case before it has been reviewed.
What happens
Preserve first. Everything else can wait a few days.
Platform data is fragile. Before we discuss strategy or eligibility, the most useful thing you can do is stop the evidence from disappearing.
- Step 1
Preserve what exists now
Screenshots with dates, the device itself, account and password records, message and notification histories, and the platform data download request. Do not delete accounts or factory-reset devices yet.
- Step 2
Gather the medical record
Pediatric and adolescent notes, psychiatric and inpatient records, therapy notes, medication history, and discharge paperwork. Chronology matters more than volume.
- Step 3
Request a review
Tell us what happened and when. A lawyer reads every submission and follows up with the specific records needed. Reviews are free and confidential.
- Step 4
We tell you where you stand
A direct answer about whether the case fits our practice, what the gaps are, and what it would cost. If we are not the right firm, we will say so.
- Do this now
- Before deleting anything, call us if you are unsure. A deleted account often cannot be recovered.
Preserve the evidence
What to save, and what to leave alone.
Platform data is deleted on a schedule and often cannot be recovered. Medical records take weeks to request. Both are worth starting today.
- The deviceKeep the phone or tablet in current condition. Do not factory-reset.
- Account detailsUsernames, handles, profile URLs, and who has or had access.
- Platform downloadUse each platform data export or download your information request.
- ScreenshotsInclude timestamps where the app shows them. Keep the originals.
- Messages and DMsSave the full conversation, not screenshots of fragments.
- Screen-time dataWeekly and monthly usage reports from the device, exported not just viewed.
- Medical recordsRequest all treating providers, including therapy and psychiatric care.
- School and coachingAthletic, disciplinary, and attendance records that show change over time.
- A written timelineDates you remember, in order. A rough timeline is more useful than none.
- Prior reports madeAny report you filed to the platform, and any response you received.
- Response time
- Within two business days, from a person, not an automated sequence.
- Cost
- Free. No fee for the review, and no obligation afterward.
- Urgent
- If a young person is in danger, call 988 or 911. Do not wait for a response here.
Start
Tell us what happened.
We ask about injuries and timelines, not dollar amounts. You do not need any documents ready; that is what the first conversation is for.
Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not a retainer. Please do not include medical record numbers or other sensitive identifiers here; we will ask for records securely after we speak. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 988 or 911 first.