TikTok has agreed to settle a landmark social media addiction lawsuit just days before jury selection began, in a case that could shape the future of litigation against Big Tech over alleged harm to children.
The social video platform was one of three major technology companies — alongside Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube — facing claims that their platforms were deliberately designed to addict young users and worsen their mental health. Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., which was also named in the lawsuit, reached a separate settlement last week for an undisclosed amount.
While the terms of TikTok’s settlement were not made public, the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
At the centre of the case is a now 19-year-old plaintiff identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose lawsuit has been selected as a bellwether trial — a test case intended to guide how thousands of similar lawsuits may be handled nationwide.
Explaining the significance of the case, Clay Calvert, a non-resident senior fellow of technology policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, said bellwether trials allow both sides “to see how their arguments play out before a jury and what damages, if any, may be awarded.”
KGM’s case, alongside two others, is expected to influence the trajectory of hundreds of pending lawsuits accusing social media companies of knowingly harming children.
Despite the settlement, TikTok remains a defendant in other personal injury cases. Joseph VanZandt, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, confirmed on Tuesday that proceedings will continue as scheduled against Meta and YouTube.
Jury selection is now underway at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, marking the first time the companies will defend these claims before a jury. The selection process is expected to last several days, with up to 75 potential jurors questioned daily through Thursday.
Observers say the trial could have far-reaching consequences for the technology industry, particularly in how social media platforms manage children’s access and engagement.
Reacting to the development, Sacha Haworth, executive director of the nonprofit Tech Oversight Project, said the settlement represents only the beginning.
“This was only the first case. There are hundreds of parents and school districts in the social media addiction trials that start today, and sadly, new families every day who are speaking out and bringing Big Tech to court for its deliberately harmful products,” Haworth said.
In her lawsuit, KGM alleges that prolonged use of social media from a young age left her addicted to the platforms and worsened her depression and suicidal thoughts. Crucially, the legal action argues that these harms were not accidental but the result of deliberate design choices aimed at maximising youth engagement and profits.
Legal experts say that argument, if upheld, could bypass key protections often relied upon by tech companies, including First Amendment defences and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally shields platforms from liability for user-generated content.
According to the lawsuit:
“Borrowing heavily from the behavioural and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, Defendants deliberately embedded in their products an array of design features aimed at maximising youth engagement to drive advertising revenue.”
The complaint further argues that young users were not incidental victims.
“Plaintiffs are not merely the collateral damage of Defendants’ products. They are the direct victims of the intentional product design choices made by each Defendant. They are the intended targets of the harmful features that pushed them into self-destructive feedback loops.”
The trial, expected to last between six and eight weeks, could feature testimony from senior executives, including Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. Experts have likened the case to the landmark Big Tobacco litigation that culminated in a 1998 settlement requiring cigarette companies to pay billions in healthcare costs and limit marketing to minors.
The tech companies strongly dispute the allegations.
In a recent blog post, Meta pushed back against claims that its platforms are responsible for teen mental health challenges.
“Recently, a number of lawsuits have attempted to place the blame for teen mental health struggles squarely on social media companies,” Meta said. “But this oversimplifies a serious issue. Clinicians and researchers find that mental health is a deeply complex and multifaceted issue, and trends regarding teens’ well-being aren’t clear-cut or universal.”
The company added that focusing on social media alone ignores other pressures facing young people, including academic stress, school safety concerns, socio-economic challenges and substance abuse.
A Meta spokesperson reiterated on Monday that the company “strongly disagrees with the allegations outlined in the lawsuit” and said it is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”
Google also rejected the claims. José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, said allegations against YouTube are “simply not true.”
“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work,” he said.
TikTok, meanwhile, did not respond to a request for comment.
The case is the first in a wave of legal actions scheduled for trial this year seeking to hold social media companies accountable for alleged harm to children’s mental well-being.
In June, a federal bellwether trial in Oakland, California, will examine lawsuits brought by school districts accusing social media platforms of contributing to student mental health crises.
More than 40 state attorneys general have also sued Meta, alleging the company deliberately designed features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children and fuel the youth mental health crisis. While most of those cases were filed in federal court, several states opted to sue locally.
TikTok is facing similar lawsuits in more than a dozen states.
In New Mexico, jury selection is set to begin next week in a separate trial accusing Meta of failing to protect young users from sexual exploitation. The lawsuit, filed in late 2023 by Attorney General Raúl Torrez, followed an undercover investigation into online child safety.
Prosecutors say the case is not about holding Meta responsible for user content but for the way its algorithms amplify harmful material. They claim internal company documents show Meta employees estimated that about 100,000 children are exposed to sexual harassment daily on the company’s platforms.
Meta has said it deploys advanced technology, employs child-safety experts, reports content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and works closely with law enforcement and state attorneys general to combat online exploitation.
Boluwatife Enome
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