YouTube settles lawsuit over alleged mental health harm to 16-year-old user

LOS ANGELES: Google’s YouTube has settled a lawsuit filed by a 16-year-old boy who alleged that the platform harmed his mental health, ahead of a California trial over claims that social media companies contributed to a youth mental health crisis.

The terms of the settlement were kept confidential, according to lawyers for the plaintiff, identified in court filings by the initials R.K.C.

The lawsuit had named YouTube, Meta’s Instagram, Snap Inc’s Snapchat and ByteDance’s TikTok as defendants. After YouTube’s settlement, Meta, Snap and TikTok remain set to face trial in July.

The trial is scheduled to begin on July 27 in California state court and will be the second such trial in the state involving individual claims that social media platforms were deliberately designed to be addictive.

According to court filings, R.K.C., who is from Florida, began using social media at around the age of eight. The lawsuit alleged that he became addicted to the platforms, lost sleep and suffered from depression and anxiety.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the case had been resolved amicably and that the company remained focused on developing age-appropriate products and parental controls.

Lawyers for the plaintiff, John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, said YouTube’s decision to settle before trial reflected the significance of the case. They said they would continue pursuing claims on behalf of people affected by alleged social media addiction.

The remaining social media companies have denied the allegations and maintain that they have taken steps to protect teens and younger users on their platforms.

More than 3,300 lawsuits involving social media addiction claims are pending in California state court.

Another 2,600 cases filed by individuals, school districts, municipalities and states are pending in California federal court.

The first California state trial concluded in March in a case brought by a woman who alleged that she became addicted to YouTube and Instagram at a young age because of their platform design.

A jury found Meta and Google negligent and ordered Meta to pay $4.2 million in damages and Google to pay $1.8 million.

Earlier this month, the judge rejected the companies’ request to set aside the verdict.

A separate federal trial had been scheduled to begin in June in a lawsuit filed by a Kentucky school district against Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube.

All four companies settled that case before trial, agreeing to pay the district a combined $27 million.

In addition to cases in California and federal court, nearly every US state has filed lawsuits in local courts against social media companies.

Those lawsuits accuse the companies of misrepresenting the safety of their platforms for young users and designing products that can addict children.

In the first state-led case to go to trial, a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding that the company misrepresented the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

A judge is separately considering whether Meta should be ordered to make changes to its platforms in that case.

Meta is also scheduled to face trial in a case filed by Tennessee next month.

In August, a federal court trial involving combined claims by multiple states is expected to proceed against Meta.