A Florida teen whose lawsuit claimed Meta’s platforms were responsible for his depression and anxiety has withdrawn his case against the company just days before the trial was set to begin in Los Angeles, his attorneys announced on Wednesday. This development is the latest in a series of high-stakes legal battles against social media companies accused of designing addictive products that harm children.
Details of the Lawsuit
The lawsuit, filed by a 15-year-old identified as RKC, originally named four defendants: Google’s YouTube, Meta’s Instagram, Snap Inc.’s Snapchat, and ByteDance’s TikTok. YouTube and TikTok settled in June, while Snap reached a tentative settlement, as reported by Bloomberg on Monday. The terms of those settlements remain confidential.
According to court filings, RKC began using social media at around age eight and became addicted, losing sleep and suffering from depression and anxiety.
Legal Strategy and Outcome
RKC’s attorneys explained the decision to drop the case: “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. He’s ready to close this chapter and focus on his recovery and engage in therapy as he aspires to have a normal life.”
A Meta spokesperson stated that RKC dropped the claims without receiving any payment. “The claims never held up,” the company said. “This outcome makes clear that we will not back away from defending ourselves against baseless lawsuits.”
Context of Prior Landmark Losses
The dropped case follows a significant loss for Meta and YouTube in March in the same Los Angeles court. That six-week trial ended with the companies ordered to pay a young woman $6 million in damages. The jury found Meta and YouTube liable for deliberately designing addictive products and negligent for failing to provide adequate warnings about potential dangers.
In a separate March lawsuit brought by New Mexico’s attorney general, a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties for misleading consumers about platform safety and enabling harm, including child sexual exploitation. These back-to-back verdicts were the first to hold social media companies liable for their products’ effects on young people.
Broader Legal Landscape
These cases were the first to go to trial, with more expected from two coordinated groups of over 2,000 plaintiffs, including families, school districts, and state attorneys general, who have sued Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap. In May, the four companies also settled a major lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district over similar addictive product claims.
This month, Meta appealed the verdict from its Los Angeles loss, challenging the jury’s finding that the company designed addictive products to hook young users.
Company Defense and Reactions
Meta and other social media companies have vigorously defended their business models, asserting their products are not addictive. Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director, wrote in a post that RKC’s claims “never held up” and that he “averaged just minutes a day on Facebook and Instagram.”
RKC’s lawyers stated they achieved their goal of raising awareness about social media’s alleged harms. “RKC came into this process wanting to hold social media companies accountable and push for changes to protect young people like himself,” they said. “He did that.”
