Google’s YouTube Settles Case Over Social Media Harm To Children
Google’s YouTube has settled a lawsuit filed by a minor who claimed the platform harmed his mental health, his lawyers said Tuesday, ahead of a second hearing in California on social media’s role in the teen mental health crisis.
Terms of the settlement of the case in state court are confidential, lawyers said Tuesday. The lawsuit named four defendants – YouTube, Meta’s Instagram, Snap Inc’s Snapchat and ByteDance’s TikTok – with the remaining three companies expected to go to trial in July.
Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in a statement that the case was resolved amicably. “Our focus continues to be on creating age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise,” Castaneda said.
The plaintiff’s attorneys, John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, known by their initials RKC, said in a statement: “YouTube’s decision to settle this case without going before a jury speaks for itself.”
“We will continue to fight on behalf of everyone affected by social media addiction to bring these companies to justice and force them to prioritize the safety of their young users.”
RKC, a 16-year-old from Florida, said he started using social media when he was about eight years old, according to court records. According to the applications, he became addicted to this substance, lost sleep, and experienced depression and anxiety.
RKC’s lawsuit is the second in California state court to test claims from people who say they have been harmed by social media platforms intentionally designed to cause addiction. The trial is scheduled to begin on July 27.
THOUSANDS OF CASES LEFT
More than 3,300 lawsuits involving addiction allegations are pending in California state court against social media companies. Another 2,600 lawsuits filed by individuals, school districts, municipalities and states are pending in California federal court.
The companies denied the allegations and said they had taken extensive steps to keep teens and young users safe on their platforms.
The first hearing, concluded in March, involved a woman who said she became addicted to YouTube and Meta’s Instagram at a young age because of their eye-catching designs. The jury found the companies negligent and awarded Meta $4.2 million in damages and Google $1.8 million. Earlier this month, the judge rejected the companies’ bid to vacate that decision.
The first trial in federal court was set to begin in June in a Kentucky school district’s lawsuit against Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube. All of the companies agreed before the hearing and paid a total of $27 million to the district.
In addition to the lawsuits in Los Angeles and federal court, nearly every state in the country has filed lawsuits against the companies in their local courts. The lawsuits accuse the companies of misrepresenting the security of their platforms aimed at young users and tailoring them to addicted children.
In the first of the cases to be tried by the states, a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million to the state after finding that the company misrepresented the security of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The judge is considering whether to order the company to make changes to its platforms as part of a separate phase of the case.
Meta is set to go on trial next month in a lawsuit filed by Tennessee.
A hearing in federal court on combined claims from multiple states is scheduled for August against Meta.
