TikTok has agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing the platform of contributing to social media addiction and mental health harm in young users, according to a lawyer representing the plaintiff.
The case involves a 19-year-old California resident identified in court filings as K.G.M., who alleged that she became addicted to social media at a young age due to the platforms’ attention-grabbing designs. She said the apps contributed to her depression and suicidal thoughts and sought to hold the companies that developed them accountable.
“K.G.M. reached an agreement in principle to settle her case” with TikTok, her lawyer, Joseph VanZandt, said.
The settlement was reached as jury selection was set to begin on Tuesday. The lawsuit is one of three bellwether cases selected from hundreds of similar claims accusing major social media companies of harming young users.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
K.G.M.’s lawsuit named YouTube, Meta, Snap, and TikTok as defendants. Snap reached a settlement with the plaintiff on January 20, though the terms were not disclosed. A Snap spokesperson and the plaintiff’s attorneys declined to comment on that agreement.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify as part of the trial proceedings.
