US teen withdraws lawsuit against Meta, Google and Snap before trial: Report
Follow UsA teen has dropped her lawsuit against major social media companies.
She claimed social media affected her mental health and well-being.
Two similar cases are still expected to go to trial in October.
Meta, Google, and Snap have recently been given a free pass in a case brought by a teenager who accused the platforms of designing features that contributed to her social media addiction. However, the 15-year-old teen reportedly dropped her lawsuit against the social media platforms that could have tested claims that social media companies harm young users. Her case was one of three selected to test similar claims brought by thousands of young users. However, the companies confirmed that she dropped the claims without receiving any payment. Her lawyer stated that the teenager wanted to move on with her life after starting the case to seek accountability and better protection for young people online.
SurveyThe lawsuit was filed in a California court, where the plaintiff, identified as P. M-Y, accused the companies of designing platforms that contributed to her social media addiction, depression, and self-harm. The teen’s case was a part of more than 3,300 personal injury lawsuits filed by individuals against social media companies in California. However, it was one of the three cases that were chosen to go to trial first.
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One thing that was common in the cases was that people who filed them say that platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat caused or worsened mental health problems among young users. These cases are intended to give courts, lawyers and companies a clearer idea of how similar claims may be viewed by juries.
Aside from Meta, Google and Snap, TikTok was also named as one of the defendants in the girl’s lawsuit. However, the company had already settled her claims.
Her attorney, Emily Jeffcott, said the teenager had started the case hoping to make social media companies more accountable and encourage changes that could protect young people. The girl’s lawsuit was due to go to trial in October.
However, before that the teen dropped the case. While clarifying the difficult move made by the plaintiff, the attorney said that the teenager ultimately decided that moving on with her life was more important.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the teenager had a significant mental health condition before using social media. The company said it would continue to strongly defend itself against the remaining lawsuits. YouTube, owned by Google, said the decision supported its position that it offers safe experiences suitable for young people, along with parental controls. Snap said it remains focused on safety, privacy and tools aimed at supporting users’ well-being.
While one of the three cases has been dropped, the other two cases involving teenagers and similar claims are scheduled to go to trial in October. Do note that TikTok has already settled those cases. Earlier this year a similar legal fight had already produced one major individual verdict, as a woman who said she became addicted to social media at a young age won $4.2 million against Meta and $1.8 million against Google. TikTok and Snap were named in the case, but they settled before that trial.
