TikTok settling three teen social media lawsuits ahead of trial

TikTok has agreed to settle three lawsuits brought by young people who accuse social media companies of designing their platforms to be addictive and harming their mental health, a plaintiffs' lawyer said yesterday (3 August).

The terms of the settlements are confidential and subject to the finalisation of written settlement agreements with TikTok, according to Joseph VanZandt, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The cases are among thousands of similar lawsuits consolidated in California state court. The plaintiffs' claims against Meta Platforms, Google's YouTube and Snap Inc's Snapchat will continue. A trial is scheduled in October.

The three cases, brought by plaintiffs identified only by their initials because they are minors, were selected as bellwether, or test, trials from among about 3,300 lawsuits before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who is overseeing consolidated claims that social media platforms are addictive and harm young users.

The companies have denied the allegations and say they take extensive steps to keep teens and young users safe on their platforms.

Attorneys often use bellwether verdicts to gauge how juries may view similar claims, helping them assess the potential value of remaining cases and guide settlement negotiations.

The plaintiffs who are settling with TikTok are SJ, a 15-year-old girl from Illinois who has alleged the social media platforms caused her to suffer from self-harm, anxiety, depression, addiction and an eating disorder; PMY, a 15-year-old from New Jersey who has alleged addiction, depression and self-harm; and KDB., an 18-year-old from Mississippi who alleged that over-use of the platforms caused anxiety, depression, addiction, self-harm and an eating disorder, according to VanZandt.

The settlements come after another bellwether case ended before trial in July, when a teenage plaintiff dropped his claims against Meta after the other defendants settled.

The first trial in the litigation, which ended in March, resulted in a $4.2 million verdict against Meta and a $1.8 million one against Google in a case brought by a woman who said she became addicted to social media platforms at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design. TikTok and Snap settled that case before trial.

Another 2,600 cases making similar claims, brought by individuals, school districts, municipalities and states, are pending in California federal court. In addition, nearly every state attorney general has sued social media companies in their own state courts.