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TikTok has reached a settlement with a 15-year-old Florida teenager weeks before a landmark US trial over allegations that social media platforms contribute to mental health problems among young users.
The teenager, identified only by the initials R.K.C., sued TikTok, Meta, Snapchat and YouTube, claiming years of compulsive social media use caused anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts for which he continues to receive treatment.
The teenager had already reached a settlement with YouTube on 23 June, leaving Meta and Snapchat as the remaining defendants in the trial scheduled to begin on 27 July in Los Angeles.
Law firm Morgan & Morgan, which represents the teenager, confirmed the agreement with TikTok but did not disclose its terms.
“We can confirm that a settlement in principle has been reached with TikTok,” the firm said.
TikTok had previously settled a similar lawsuit in January before trial, without admitting liability.
The forthcoming Los Angeles case is widely viewed as another major test of how thousands of social media addiction lawsuits in the United States may be resolved.
Following the settlement with YouTube, the plaintiff’s lawyers accused social media companies of deliberately designing features that encourage excessive use by children.
“These social media companies have been strategising for years to hook children early and maximise their usage with insidious features like autoplay and infinite scroll, all with the aim of increasing profits at the expense of the mental health of our youth,” the lawyers said.
In March, a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and Google, YouTube’s parent company, to pay six million dollars to a young woman in a similar case.
In another case, Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube agreed in May to pay about 27 million dollars to a school district in Kentucky to avoid trial over similar allegations.
Separately, more than 30 US states have sued Meta over claims relating to the impact of its social media platforms on young users, with that case expected to go to trial in August in Oakland.
