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- Delaney Sawyer via New York Post
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- Society·3 min to read
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Meta settles with teen plaintiff before social media addiction trial
ReMeta settles with teen plaintiff before social media addiction trial
Meta has reached a settlement with a teenage plaintiff who alleged that social media caused her depression and eating disorders, days before the case was set to go to trial in Los Angeles.
Meta has settled with a teenage plaintiff who claimed that its social media platforms contributed to her depression and eating disorders, avoiding a jury trial in Los Angeles. The settlement was reached after jury selection had already begun on Wednesday, according to reporting on the case.
The lawsuit was one of a growing number of cases brought against Meta over claims that its products foster addiction among young users. The latest case was set to go before a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court the following week. Meta had also settled with another teen plaintiff days before the trial, a sign that the company is resolving individual claims as they approach a courtroom.
The cases center on whether features of platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are designed to keep young people engaged for long periods, and whether that design has harmed their mental health. Plaintiffs in these suits argue that the companies knew about the risks and did not do enough to protect minors. Meta has not admitted liability in the settlements that have been reported.
The settlements mean the jury will not hear evidence in this particular case. Because claims are being resolved one plaintiff at a time, the broader questions about social media and youth well-being remain unresolved in open court. Other pending lawsuits over child social media addiction continue to move through the courts, and each settlement removes one set of internal records and testimony from public view.
Parents, educators and policymakers who have followed the debate over teenagers and screens have watched the litigation closely. The record so far has been shaped more by private agreements than by verdicts, which leaves the question of how much harm the companies knew about largely to the documents that emerge in discovery and to the filings in pending cases. Whether future cases reach a jury may determine how much testimony about internal company practices becomes available to the public.
The Los Angeles case is part of a broader wave of litigation in which families and school districts have argued that youth social media use is a public health problem. Plaintiffs have pointed to rising reports of anxiety, depression and disordered eating among adolescents as the basis for their claims, while companies have pointed to the wide range of safety tools and parental controls they offer. Those competing positions are likely to shape how the remaining cases are argued.
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