TikTok has reached a confidential settlement in a landmark lawsuit over youth mental health, leaving Meta and YouTube to face a jury in California as the first major trial of its kind gets underway.
The agreement was announced by one of the plaintiff’s lawyers as jury selection opened in Los Angeles, removing TikTok from what had been expected to be a multi-company test of claims that social media design harms young users.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Snap, also named in the original suit, reached its own settlement on 20 January.
The case centres on a 19-year-old Californian identified as K.G.M., who says she became addicted to the companies’ platforms at a young age because of their attention-driven design.
She blames years of depression and suicidal thoughts on the apps and is seeking to hold the companies that created them responsible.
Her lawsuit is one of three bellwether cases selected from hundreds of related filings across the United States.
With TikTok and Snap no longer part of the proceedings, the first trial will focus on Meta and YouTube.
Both continue to face allegations that their products contribute to a wider youth mental health crisis, a claim they reject.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify.
Legal teams say the outcome of the case will shape how the remaining lawsuits are handled and could signal whether courts are prepared to challenge the long-standing legal protections that Big Tech companies have relied on for decades.
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