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Texas TikTok Addiction Lawyer

Texas has some of the most active child online-safety laws and lawsuits in the country, from the SCOPE Act to the Attorney General's case against TikTok. If your child was hurt by compulsive use of TikTok or another platform, here is what Texas families should know.

Reviewed by the legal team at Estey & Bomberger, LLP · Updated November 14, 2026

Texas is big enough that a family in El Paso is closer to San Diego than to Houston. Across Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, in the Rio Grande Valley and out in West Texas and the Panhandle, parents have watched social media pull their kids into patterns they could not break, and some have faced frightening consequences.

No matter where you are in Texas, you can work with our firm without leaving home. We meet by phone and video, and we will come to you when that helps. Cases are filed in MDL 3047, the coordinated federal litigation in the Northern District of California, or in the appropriate state court, with Texas-licensed counsel where required. Families at Fort Hood, Fort Bliss and other Texas bases are welcome.

TikTok and social media litigation in Texas

In September 2026, a Travis County judge ruled that TikTok violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act in statements about content moderation and its Restricted Mode. Penalties are pending while TikTok appeals. Separately, Meta agreed in August 2026 to pay Texas more than $1 billion.

How a TikTok Lawsuit Works for Texas Families

Lawsuits against TikTok claim the company designed its app to keep kids hooked — through the endless For You feed, autoplay, constant notifications and appearance filters — while offering weak age checks and parental controls, and without warning families about risks its own research identified. Learn how TikTok's design hooks kids.

Where Texas Cases Are Filed

Federal courts: Texas has four federal judicial districts: the Northern District (including Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock and Amarillo), the Southern District (including Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo), the Eastern District (including Tyler, Beaumont, Sherman, Plano and Marshall) and the Western District (including San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Waco and Midland).

The federal MDL: Social media addiction injury cases against TikTok, Meta (Instagram and Facebook), YouTube and Snap filed in federal court are centralized for pretrial proceedings in In re Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3047, before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California (Oakland). A Texas family's federal case would generally be transferred there, or may be filed directly there under the MDL's procedures, and could later be sent back to a Texas federal court for trial. An MDL is not a class action: each child's case remains an individual lawsuit.

Texas state courts: Larger injury cases in Texas state court are usually filed in a district court in a county with a proper connection to the case. Appeals go to the regional courts of appeals and then the Supreme Court of Texas. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals in Austin, which began hearing cases on Sept. 1, 2024, has statewide jurisdiction over appeals involving the State of Texas, including the Attorney General's case against TikTok.

Texas Laws on Kids and Social Media

Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act

HB 18 (2023), Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 509 · Source
Status: In effect since Sept. 1, 2024, but partly blocked. A federal court in Austin blocked the requirement that platforms monitor and filter harmful content (Aug. 30, 2024, <em>CCIA &amp; NetChoice v. Paxton</em>), and the Fifth Circuit affirmed that ruling on July 24, 2026, finding the filtering mandate preempted by federal Section 230. In the same decision, the Fifth Circuit vacated a broader injunction won by student plaintiffs (<em>SEAT v. Paxton</em>), so other provisions, including age registration, remain enforceable. Texas asked the full Fifth Circuit to rehear the case on Aug. 28, 2026; that request was pending at last check.

The SCOPE Act applies to digital services that let users socialize and post content. For users the service knows are minors (under 18), it limits data collection and targeted advertising, requires tools that let parents supervise privacy and account settings, and requires reasonable care to prevent harm to minors. Violations are treated as deceptive trade practices that the Attorney General enforces; the Act does not give families their own right to sue.

App Store Accountability Act

SB 2420 (2025), Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 121 · Source
Status: Scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2026, but a federal judge blocked it on Dec. 23, 2025. The Fifth Circuit stayed that injunction pending appeal (June 2026), and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift the stay in July 2026, so the law is currently enforceable. The Fifth Circuit heard argument on Aug. 4, 2026; no final appellate ruling had been reported at last check.

Requires app stores to sort Texas users into age groups (under 13, 13–15, 16–17 and adults), link minors' accounts to a parent, and get a parent's consent for each app download or in-app purchase by a minor. App developers must assign age ratings and use the app store's age and consent signals. Violations are deceptive trade practices under the Texas DTPA.

Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA)

HB 4 (2023), Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 541 · Source
Status: In effect since July 1, 2024. The Attorney General has cited it, alongside the SCOPE Act, in investigations of Character.AI, Reddit, Instagram, Discord and other companies (Dec. 2024).

Texas's general consumer privacy law treats personal data from a known child (under 13) as sensitive data, which companies may not process without a parent's consent given in line with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The Attorney General enforces the law; there is no private right of action.

Student use of personal communication devices at school

HB 1481 (2025), amending Tex. Educ. Code § 37.082 · Source
Status: In effect since June 20, 2025. Districts had to adopt policies by Sept. 18, 2025, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Requires every Texas school district and open-enrollment charter school to adopt a policy prohibiting students from using phones, smartwatches, tablets and similar personal devices on school property during the school day. Schools may ban the devices outright or require secure storage, with exceptions for IEPs, Section 504 plans, documented medical needs and safety requirements.

Age verification for sexually explicit websites (related law)

HB 1181 (2023), Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 129B · Source
Status: In effect. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law 6–3 in <em>Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton</em> (June 27, 2025), applying intermediate scrutiny.

Not a social media law, but closely related: it requires commercial websites where more than one-third of the material is sexual material harmful to minors to verify that users are adults. The case testing it shaped how courts look at age-verification rules generally.

Proposed social media ban for minors (did not pass)

HB 186 (2025, 89th Legislature) · Source
Status: Not law. The bill died when it missed a legislative deadline in late May 2025. The Texas Legislature next meets in regular session in January 2027.

Would have barred anyone under 18 from creating a social media account and required age verification. It passed the Texas House and cleared a Senate committee, but never received a vote of the full Senate.

Texas Government Actions Against TikTok and Social Media Companies

Texas v. TikTok (deceptive marketing). In January 2025, Attorney General Ken Paxton sued TikTok in Travis County under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleging it marketed the app as safe for children while minors could easily reach explicit content. On Sept. 10, 2026, Judge Cory Liu of the 250th District Court granted the state partial summary judgment, finding TikTok violated the DTPA through its statements about removing content that broke its own Community Guidelines and about its Restricted Mode, which the court found did not work as advertised. The ruling did not decide penalties or the addiction allegations. TikTok then went to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, which in late September 2026 temporarily paused the trial-court proceedings while it considers TikTok's motions, so penalties are still pending.

Texas v. TikTok (SCOPE Act). In October 2024, Texas separately sued TikTok under the SCOPE Act, alleging it shared minors' personal information without parental consent and failed to give parents required supervision tools. The state seeks civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

Meta settlement. On Aug. 26, 2026, the Attorney General announced that Meta will pay Texas more than $1 billion, on the same day Meta settled with the other states. Texas negotiated its own deal rather than joining the multistate agreement; Bloomberg Law reported it as $1.05 billion, rising to as much as $1.335 billion if YouTube and TikTok adopt matching terms. According to the Attorney General, Meta must adopt stricter age assurance, a daily two-hour limit for teen users, notifications off by default during school hours, hidden likes by default and a nighttime mode, and the money will fund youth mental health services, crisis resources, digital literacy, after-school programs and school grants.

Other Texas actions. The Attorney General has also sued Roblox (Nov. 2025) over child safety, Snap (Feb. 2026) over Snapchat's “12+” ratings and addictive features such as Snapstreaks, and Discord (May 2026, Collin County) under the SCOPE Act and DTPA; in July 2026 Discord agreed to an order to bring UK-style age assurance and safety defaults to Texas users. He opened SCOPE Act and privacy investigations into Character.AI, Reddit, Instagram, Discord and others in December 2024, and a further investigation of Meta AI Studio and Character.AI over AI “therapy” claims in August 2025.

These government cases seek penalties and changes in company behavior; they do not pay individual families. A family's own injury claim is separate.

Deadlines to File a TikTok Lawsuit in Texas

Personal injury: In Texas, most personal-injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the claim accrues (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a)).

Wrongful death: A wrongful-death suit must also be filed within two years, and the claim accrues on the date of death (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b)).

Minors: Texas treats a person younger than 18 as being under a “legal disability.” If the injured person was a minor when the claim accrued, the time before their 18th birthday is not counted (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001). In many cases, that means a young person has until about age 20 to file a personal-injury claim. A disability that begins after the clock has started does not pause it (§ 16.001(d)).

Important caution: These deadlines depend on the facts. When a claim “accrues,” which claims belong to the parents rather than the child (for example, for a child's medical bills), and how the rules apply to a young adult whose problems started as a teen can all change the answer. Please do not wait: talk with a lawyer as soon as possible about your family's specific dates.

Texas teen mental health by the numbers

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey asks Texas public high school students about their health every two years. CDC data from the 2023 Texas survey show:

  • 42.4% of Texas high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more that they stopped doing some usual activities, including 56.4% of girls.
  • 21.1% seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, and 18.3% made a plan.
  • 12.3% reported attempting suicide in the past year, including 18.6% of girls.
  • 30.3% said their mental health was most of the time or always not good in the past 30 days.

For comparison, 38.3% of Texas students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2019. These numbers do not show what caused any one student's struggles, but they help explain why Texas lawmakers, schools and the Attorney General have focused on young people's online lives.

If your child is in crisis, call or text 988 or call 911. You can also reach the Texas Youth Helpline at 1-800-989-6884, 24/7.

Phones in Texas classrooms: what HB 1481 changed

Since the 2025–26 school year, every Texas public school district and open-enrollment charter school must have a policy that bars students from using personal communication devices, including cell phones, smartwatches and tablets, on school property during the school day. Districts can ban devices from campus or require that they be locked away, and the policy must include disciplinary consequences. The state set aside $20 million in grants to help schools buy secure storage.

The law includes exceptions for students whose IEP or Section 504 plan requires a device, for documented medical needs and for safety requirements. Check your district's policy for the details.

A phone-free school day can help, but it does not reach the hours kids spend on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or Snapchat at night and on weekends, which is where many families see the worst effects.

What Texas families should know about the state cases

Texas has been unusually active against social media companies, but the Attorney General's lawsuits and a family's own case are different things:

  • The state's cases seek penalties and changes. Money from the Meta settlement goes to the State of Texas for programs, not to individual families. Any penalties in the TikTok case would also go to the state.
  • The state's rulings can still matter. The Travis County ruling that TikTok's Restricted Mode did not work as advertised, and evidence gathered in these suits, are part of the public record about how the apps were designed and marketed.
  • Texas laws mostly do not create private lawsuits. The SCOPE Act, the App Store Accountability Act and the TDPSA are enforced by the Attorney General. Family injury cases are usually based on product liability and negligence: claims that a platform's design was defective or that the company failed to warn about known risks.
  • Deadlines keep running. Government cases do not pause your family's filing deadline.

Injuries in Texas TikTok Cases

We represent Texas children, teens and young adults who developed serious conditions after heavy social media use, including:

TikTok is our focus, but we also take cases involving Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Facebook.

Cities We Serve in Texas

We represent families in every corner of Texas, including its 50 largest cities below, as well as smaller towns and rural communities. You never need to travel to our office.

  1. Houston
  2. San Antonio
  3. Dallas
  4. Fort Worth
  5. Austin
  6. El Paso
  7. Arlington
  8. Corpus Christi
  9. Plano
  10. Lubbock
  11. Laredo
  12. Irving
  13. Garland
  14. Frisco
  15. McKinney
  16. Grand Prairie
  17. Amarillo
  18. Brownsville
  19. Denton
  20. Killeen
  21. Mesquite
  22. McAllen
  23. Pasadena
  24. Waco
  25. Midland
  26. Round Rock
  27. Lewisville
  28. Carrollton
  29. Abilene
  30. Pearland
  31. College Station
  32. Odessa
  33. New Braunfels
  34. League City
  35. Conroe
  36. Richardson
  37. Tyler
  38. Allen
  39. Beaumont
  40. Edinburg
  41. Sugar Land
  42. Georgetown
  43. Wichita Falls
  44. San Angelo
  45. Temple
  46. Bryan
  47. Leander
  48. Mission
  49. Baytown
  50. Mansfield

Ranked by population. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates for incorporated places (July 1, 2025).

Texas Counties We Serve

The 30 most populous of Texas's 254 counties (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates). We help families in every Texas county.:

  • Harris
  • Dallas
  • Tarrant
  • Bexar
  • Travis
  • Collin
  • Denton
  • Fort Bend
  • Hidalgo
  • El Paso
  • Montgomery
  • Williamson
  • Cameron
  • Brazoria
  • Bell
  • Galveston
  • Nueces
  • Lubbock
  • Hays
  • Webb
  • McLennan
  • Jefferson
  • Smith
  • Brazos
  • Ellis
  • Johnson
  • Kaufman
  • Comal
  • Guadalupe
  • Midland

Texas Mental Health and Crisis Resources

If your child is in danger right now, call 911. For a mental health crisis anywhere in Texas, call or text 988, day or night.

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — Call or text 988, or chat online, any time, for free and confidential support. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
  • Texas Youth Helpline (DFPS) — Free, confidential help 24/7 for young people and their parents: call or text 1-800-989-6884, or chat online. It is not a reporting hotline and is not connected to law enforcement.
  • Local Mental Health Authority (LMHA) finder — Texas Health and Human Services contracts with local mental health and behavioral health authorities that run 24/7 crisis lines and connect children and teens to services. Search by county or ZIP code, or dial 2-1-1.
  • TCHATT (Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine) — A Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium program offering free, short-term telehealth mental health care to students in participating school districts. Ask your child's school counselor about a referral.
  • Texas Abuse Hotline (DFPS) — To report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a child, call 1-800-252-5400 or report online. Call 911 in an emergency.
  • 2-1-1 Texas — Dial 2-1-1 for referrals to local counseling, support groups and other community services anywhere in Texas.
  • Texas Attorney General consumer complaints — Report deceptive practices by an app or online platform to the Consumer Protection Division.

What to Do Now

  1. Make sure your child is safe and getting care. If they're in crisis, call or text 988. See getting help for your child.
  2. Don't delete their TikTok or other accounts. Save the evidence.
  3. Call (858) 923-5554 or request a free case review.

Texas TikTok Lawsuit FAQ

Can my Texas family file a TikTok addiction lawsuit?

Possibly. Families across the country, including in Texas, have filed individual lawsuits claiming that TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat or Facebook were designed in ways that fostered compulsive use and contributed to harms such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm or sleep problems. Whether your child has a claim depends on the specific facts. A free, confidential consultation can help you understand your options. We cannot promise any result.

How long do we have to file in Texas?

Texas generally allows two years for personal-injury and wrongful-death claims (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). For a child, the clock usually does not start until the 18th birthday (§ 16.001), but claims that belong to parents may follow different rules. Because the answer depends on the facts, please talk with a lawyer soon.

Does the Texas ruling against TikTok mean my family gets compensation?

No. The September 2026 Travis County ruling was in a case brought by the State of Texas under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Any penalties would go to the state. To seek compensation for your child's injuries, your family would need its own claim.

Is this a class action?

No. Each family's case is an individual lawsuit. Federal cases are grouped in MDL 3047 in California for pretrial steps such as evidence gathering, but each child's injuries, damages and outcome are considered separately.

Do I need a lawyer licensed in Texas?

Our attorneys are licensed in California and Pennsylvania. Many social media addiction cases proceed in the federal MDL in California, and when a case needs to be handled in Texas, we may work with local Texas counsel. We will explain how your case would be handled before you decide anything.

Can my child sue under the SCOPE Act or the App Store Accountability Act?

Generally no. Those laws are enforced by the Texas Attorney General, and the SCOPE Act does not give families a private right to sue. Individual injury cases usually rely on product liability and negligence claims instead.

My child is now 19 or 20. Is it too late?

Not necessarily. Because Texas does not count the time before age 18, a young adult whose problems began as a minor may still be within the two-year window. Young adults up to about 25 whose harm began when they were minors may also have options. The timing is fact-specific, so it is worth checking right away.

Do I need a lawyer located in Texas?

No. These cases are coordinated nationally, and our firm represents families across the country by phone, video and in-person visits. When a case requires it, we work with local counsel licensed in Texas, with your consent.

What does it cost?

Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so we are paid only if we recover money for your family. The consultation is free.

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2025
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Texas incorporated place estimates (SUB-EST2025_48)
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, County Population Totals: 2020–2025
  4. U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 county estimates (CO-EST2025-alldata)
  5. Texas Business & Commerce Code ch. 509 (SCOPE Act)
  6. Texas Legislature, HB 18 (88th Leg.) enrolled text
  7. CCIA & NetChoice v. Paxton, No. 24-50721 (5th Cir. July 24, 2026)
  8. NetChoice, CCIA & NetChoice v. Paxton case page (rehearing petition)
  9. Biometric Update, Paxton, NetChoice both declare victory on SCOPE Act (July 2026)
  10. Texas Legislature, SB 2420 (89th Leg.) enrolled text
  11. CCIA, CCIA v. Paxton (W.D. Tex.) – SB 2420 litigation
  12. Texas Data Law, SB 2420 tracker
  13. Morrison Foerster, Texas App Store Accountability Act update
  14. Texas Attorney General, Texas Data Privacy and Security Act
  15. Texas Legislature, HB 1481 (89th Leg.) enrolled text
  16. Texas Legislature, HB 1481 bill history
  17. Texas Education Agency, Implementation of HB 1481
  18. Texas Legislature, HB 1181 (88th Leg.) enrolled text
  19. U.S. Supreme Court, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (2025)
  20. Texas Tribune, Proposed social media ban for Texas kids misses key deadline (May 28, 2025)
  21. Texas Legislature, HB 186 bill history
  22. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001
  23. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003
  24. Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals
  25. U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
  26. Texas Attorney General, TikTok ruling press release (Sept. 10, 2026)
  27. State of Texas v. TikTok, Cause No. D-1-GN-25-003118, order (Sept. 10, 2026)
  28. Law Commentary, TikTok wins pause in Texas child safety case (Sept. 30, 2026)
  29. Bloomberg Law, TikTok granted brief stay as Texas harmful content trial looms (Sept. 30, 2026)
  30. Texas Attorney General, Paxton sues TikTok for deceptively promoting app as safe (Jan. 9, 2025)
  31. Texas Attorney General, Paxton sues TikTok under SCOPE Act (Oct. 3, 2024)
  32. Texas Attorney General, Meta settlement press release (Aug. 26, 2026)
  33. Bloomberg Law, Texas billion-dollar side deal ranks high in Meta settlement (Aug. 27, 2026)
  34. Texas Attorney General, Paxton sues Roblox (Nov. 7, 2025)
  35. Texas Attorney General, Paxton sues Snapchat (Feb. 11, 2026)
  36. Texas Tribune, Texas sues Discord (May 22, 2026)
  37. Texas Attorney General, investigations into Character.AI and others (Dec. 12, 2024)
  38. Texas Attorney General, investigation of Meta AI Studio and Character.AI (Aug. 18, 2025)
  39. CDC, YRBSS Mental Health Indicators dataset (Texas, 2019–2023)
  40. Texas DSHS, Texas Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
  41. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
  42. Texas Youth Helpline (DFPS)
  43. Texas HHS, LMHA and LBHA directory
  44. Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, TCHATT
  45. Texas Abuse Hotline (DFPS)
  46. 2-1-1 Texas
  47. Texas Attorney General, File a Consumer Complaint

State laws and court rulings change. Information checked November 14, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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