TikTok settled three landmark lawsuits alleging teen social media addiction and mental health harm just before trial. Because this case was selected as a bellwether trial representing roughly 3,300 social media addiction class actions underway in the United States, attention is focused on how similar lawsuits will proceed.
On the 3rd local time, Reuters reported that TikTok agreed to settle a damages suit brought by three teen plaintiffs that had been proceeding in Los Angeles Superior Court in California. Joseph VanZandt, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the terms are confidential and only the process of drafting the final settlement agreement remains. Reuters reported that TikTok did not respond regarding the settlement.
In particular, this case is a bellwether trial selected as the representative case among roughly 3,300 social media addiction class actions filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in California. A bellwether trial is a procedure used to gauge jury judgments and settlement sizes in other similar suits based on the results of a representative case.
The plaintiffs are minors and were identified only by initials. They argued that social media platforms, including TikTok, designed their services to hold users' attention for long periods, causing teen addiction, depression, anxiety, self-harm, and eating disorders.
However, the settlement applies only to TikTok. The same plaintiffs' suits against Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Google's YouTube, and Snap's Snapchat will continue. Trials related to those cases are scheduled for Oct. The companies—Meta, Google, and Snap—deny the allegations of teen social media addiction and say they are implementing various safety measures to protect teen users.
Separately, about 2,600 similar suits filed by individuals, schools, local governments, and state governments are pending in federal court in California. Attorneys general in most U.S. states are also pursuing separate lawsuits against social media platform corporations in their respective state courts.
Earlier, on Mar., in a lawsuit by a woman who said she was addicted to social media as a child, a jury awarded $4.2 million to Meta and $1.8 million to Google in damages. At that time, TikTok and Snap settled with the plaintiff before the trial began.