Google settles lawsuit over social media harm
Google LLC-owned YouTube today reached a settlement with a Florida-based minor in a social media addiction case, one of many trials that will take place as social media platforms face growing scrutiny for a mental health crisis in the young.
The suit named four defendants, including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram, Snap Inc.’s Snapchat and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok. The other platforms are expected to face trial in July. Speaking for the plaintiff, attorneys John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott said that YouTube’s decision to settle the case “before having to face a jury speaks for itself.”
“This matter has been amicably resolved and our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise,” Google spokesman José Castañeda said in a statement to media.
The teenager, named only as R.K.C., is one of about 1,000 similar cases that will be overseen by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl. The settlement today could be bad news for the companies involved which may find themselves having to settle many times over. Though the terms of the settlement were not made public, it likely came at a substantial cost.
