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Meta will avoid trial in a second lawsuit accusing it of intentionally addicting and harming a teen. The plaintiff dropped the case on Wednesday, days before trial was set to begin.
A Florida teenager going by his initials, R.K.C., sued Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Snap in 2023, alleging that the platforms’ “addictive design” hooked him. He argued that this caused sleep deprivation, suicidal thoughts and other mental health challenges. R.K.C.’s was set to be the second “bellwether” case to go to trial of hundreds of similar cases against the companies, after Meta and YouTube were found liable in the first case earlier this year.
R.K.C. settled his case with YouTube, TikTok and Snap in recent weeks, the terms of which were not disclosed. That left Meta as the sole defendant ahead of trial, which was set to begin with jury selection in Los Angeles Superior Court next week.
But on Wednesday, Meta said R.K.C. had dropped the case against the company without receiving any payment.
“The claims never held up, and this outcome makes clear that we will not back away from defending ourselves against baseless lawsuits,” Meta spokesperson Liza Crenshaw said in a statement.
Lawyers for R.K.C. framed the litigation as a win for social media accountability.
“In light of the overall successful result of the litigation and his concerns about enduring a grueling weekslong trial, he has elected to withdraw his claims against Meta. He’s ready to close this chapter and focus on his recovery and engage in therapy as he aspires to have a normal life,” attorneys Emily Jeffcott and Rahul Ravipudi said in a statement on Wednesday.
The move marks a win for Meta amid a wave of litigation from families, school districts and state attorneys general claiming that the company’s platforms have harmed young people.
In addition to the Los Angeles ruling against Meta and YouTube, a New Mexico jury in March ordered Meta to pay $375 million for failing to protect children from sexual predators on its platforms. And in May, Meta, YouTube, Snap and TikTok agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district over addiction claims — which had been set to be the first of hundreds of similar cases to go to trial. (Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.)
Trial is now underway in another case brought by Tennessee’s attorney general alleging that Meta knowingly harmed young people’s mental health.
Meta has long argued that it invests heavily in guardrails and features to make its platforms safe for young people, as have the other major social media platforms.
The Social Media Victims Law Center, which is leading the litigation of the hundreds of cases brought by individuals and families against the four companies, declined to comment on R.K.C. dropping his case.
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