WASHINGTON — TikTok reached an agreement on Monday night (26) to end a lawsuit that accused social media companies of designing their products to addict young users, thus avoiding the first in a series of trials considered historic in the US.
The trial, which would begin this Tuesday (27), with jury selection in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California, is the first in a wave of actions planned for this year against Meta, YouTube, Snap and TikTok itself. The cases arise from lawsuits filed by thousands of people, school districts and attorneys general from different states, who accuse companies of making their platforms as addictive as cigarettes and causing harm to health.
The authors ask for financial compensation and changes in the design of social networks to curb excessive use. If they can convince the courts that big tech created defective products that harmed millions of young Americans, these lawsuits — seen as a test for the rest — could open new avenues of accountability against technology giants.
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With the agreement, TikTok and Snap leave the first case, leaving Meta and YouTube as defendants. The lawsuit involves a 20-year-old woman from California, identified in a 2023 lawsuit only by the initials KGM. She claims to have become dependent on social media as a child and developed anxiety, depression and body image issues because of using the platforms. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan are expected to testify.
Joseph VanZandt, one of the plaintiff’s lead attorneys, confirmed the settlement but did not elaborate on the terms. He said that the judgment against YouTube and Meta remains maintained.
Mark Lanier, another lawyer leading the case, said in a statement that “this is a good solution and we are pleased with the settlement.”
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TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.
Even with the settlement, TikTok and Snap are still defendants in more than a dozen other lawsuits that are expected to go to trial this year in state and federal courts. Around nine cases are planned within the series of trials in Los Angeles. A second block of federal lawsuits is expected to begin trial this summer in Oakland, California’s Northern District Court.
The actions state that features such as infinite scrolling, automatic video playback and recommendations based on algorithms encourage compulsive use and are linked to depression, eating disorders and self-mutilation among young people.
The companies deny the accusations and say there is no proof of a direct link between social media use and addiction. They also rely on a federal law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which protects them from liability for content posted by users.
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