US EditionTiktok Settles Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Ahead of Trial
TikTok settled a product-liability lawsuit alleging addictive design caused mental health harms to youth, while Meta and YouTube proceed to trial in a landmark case.
- On Jan 27, TikTok agreed to settle with a plaintiff and will no longer be part of the Los Angeles County Superior Court trial; settlement terms were not disclosed and the company did not respond to requests for comment.
- Plaintiffs argue the apps' deliberate design choices created addiction and harm, citing behavioral tactics likened to slot machines and cigarette-industry methods to undercut Section 230 and First Amendment defenses.
- A 19-year-old plaintiff identified as K.G.M. anchors the bellwether test case, while jury selection starts this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court with 75 potential jurors per day and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify.
- The trial moves forward against Meta and YouTube despite third-party settlements; Snap Inc., parent of Snapchat, settled on January 20 and exited the LA bellwether, while experts warn the verdict could set precedent akin to Big Tobacco trials.
- Later this year, another major trial will begin in the Northern District of California as more than 40 state attorneys general have filed suits and TikTok remains a defendant in other injury cases.
176 Articles
176 Articles
Jury Selection Begins in Lawsuit Accusing Social Media Companies of Getting Young People Addicted to Platforms
PODCAST: Jan. 28, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds speak with Clay Calvert, a non-resident senior fellow of technology policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, about social media lawsuits.LOS ANGELES ~ TikTok and Snap will settle in a lawsuit seeking monetary damages over social media companies allegedly getting young users addicted to their platforms. This leaves Meta and YouTube representatives to be a…
US court to hear landmark tech addiction case
The first of more than 1,000 lawsuits against social media platforms in the US goes to trial this week, with tech giants’ internal communications likely to play a key role. A 20-year-old woman is suing YouTube and Meta — TikTok and Snapchat settled with her out of court — alleging they designed their platforms to be addictive. The case faces significant hurdles: The allegation that social media causes mental health issues, rather than simply cor…
TikTok settles social media addiction case
TikTok has reached a last-minute settlement in a closely watched social media addiction lawsuit, just hours before jury selection was due to begin in a landmark trial. The case is one of the first of its kind to reach a jury and is being closely followed because it is intended as a bellwether trial – a test case that could shape how hundreds of similar lawsuits against major technology companies… Source
Observador
The social network was accused of deliberately designing its application to extend the maximum time spent on the app. The company follows the example of Snapchat and closes the process with confidential agreement.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
