A 15-year-old Florida resident, identified by the initials R.K.C., has dropped a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that he became addicted to and was harmed by his use of platforms like Instagram. This decision comes after the teenager recently settled similar claims against TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, which also face accusations of creating addictive platforms harmful to children.
The case against Meta was scheduled to go before a Los Angeles jury next week. A Meta spokesperson stated, "The claims never held up, and this outcome makes clear that we will not back away from defending ourselves against baseless lawsuits." The spokesperson also indicated that R.K.C. received no payment for dropping his claims. A lawyer for the teenager did not respond to requests for comment.
R.K.C. had argued that common social media features, such as infinite scroll and autoplay, contributed to compulsive use that amounted to addiction, causing him anxiety and sleep deprivation, among other issues.
This lawsuit against Meta and YouTube followed a previous trial where a young woman made similar accusations. In that instance, a jury found the companies liable for harming her mental health and ordered them to pay $6 million in damages. This marked the first time social media platforms were held liable for their effects on users. Both Meta and YouTube have appealed that verdict.
The Los Angeles Superior Court is overseeing hundreds of lawsuits with similar claims against social media companies. A limited number of cases have been selected for trial, with the next one slated to begin in October.
Thousands of lawsuits across the United States accuse Meta and other major social media platforms of harming young children. In May, Meta reached an undisclosed settlement with a school district that had sued the company for negatively impacting students and causing costs related to student welfare. The school district had initially sought $60 million in damages. This settlement occurred shortly after a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $375 million for allegedly misleading users about the safety of its platforms for children.