TikTok has reportedly settled a trio of upcoming lawsuits brought by teenagers who accused the company of fueling a mental health crisis by implementing addictive features on the popular social media app.
The three bellwether cases were part of a wave of roughly 3,3000 lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court filed against TikTok, YouTube parent Google, Instagram and Facebook parent Meta and Snapchat. The tech firms are accused of getting kids hooked on social media despite harmful effects that included anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm.
The terms of the TikTok settlements are confidential and subject to the finalization of written settlement agreements, plaintiffs’ attorneys Joseph VanZandt of Beasley Allen and Emily Jeffcott of Morgan & Morgan said in a joint statement.
“Each plaintiff maintains claims against Meta, YouTube, and Snap, with those trials schedule to proceed in October,” the lawyers said.
TikTok did not immediately return a request for comment.
The plaintiffs who reached settlements with TikTok were all identified by their initials because they were minors at the time of the claims. They included a 15-year-old girl from Illinois, a 15-year-old from New Jersey and an 18-year-old from Mississippi.
All three plaintiffs alleged that they developed eating disorders, self-harm, anxiety and depression as a direct result of their social media addictions.
The wave of cases brought in Los Angeles Superior Court, and a separate tranche of more than 2,600 cases in California federal court, have been hailed by critics as a “Big Tobacco moment” for tech firms who they say have long skirted accountability for the public harm caused by their apps.
Meta and Google suffered a major setback in March after they lost the first bellwether case brought in Los Angeles on behalf of a teen called KGM. Meta was ordered to pay $4.2 million in damages in that case, while Google was ordered to pay $1.8 million.
The two companies have denied wrongdoing and vowed to appeal.
TikTok and Snap were originally defendants in that case, but reached settlements before going to trial.
Last month, a 15-year-old in Florida reached settlements with Google, TikTok and Snap just days before his trial was set to begin in Los Angeles, but dropped his lawsuit against remaining defendant Meta.
“In light of the overall successful result of the litigation and his concerns about enduring a grueling weeks-long trial, he has elected to withdraw his claims against Meta,” attorneys for the Florida teen said in a statement.
“He’s ready to close this chapter and focus on his recovery and engage in therapy as he aspires to have a normal life.”
With Post wires