Meta Platforms and YouTube will face a closely watched courtroom battle in California this week over claims that their platforms contributed to youth addiction and mental health harm, after TikTok agreed to settle similar allegations just hours before trial was set to begin.
The landmark case, unfolding in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County, centers on a 19-year-old woman identified as K.G.M., who alleges she became addicted to social media at a young age due to the platforms’ attention-grabbing design. According to court filings, she claims prolonged use fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts, and she is seeking to hold the companies that designed the platforms legally responsible.
TikTok reached an agreement in principle to settle its portion of the lawsuit on Tuesday, according to one of K.G.M.’s lawyers. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment to Reuters. Snap, another defendant in the case, settled earlier this month.
With those settlements, Meta and YouTube—owned by Alphabet—are now the remaining defendants as jury selection begins. The trial is the first of several so-called “bellwether” cases chosen from hundreds of lawsuits accusing social media platforms of harming young users’ mental health. The outcome could shape how the broader litigation proceeds nationwide.
Plaintiff attorney Matthew Bergman has said the case marks the first time major tech companies will be forced to defend their products in court over alleged mental health harm. “They will be under a level of scrutiny that does not exist when you testify in front of Congress,” he told Reuters.
Jurors will be asked to decide whether Meta and YouTube were negligent in offering products that allegedly harmed K.G.M.’s mental health, and whether her use of the platforms was a substantial factor in her depression compared with other influences, such as third-party content or offline aspects of her life.
“This is really a test case,” said Clay Calvert, a media law expert at the American Enterprise Institute. “We’re going to see what happens with these theories that social media platforms caused the alleged harm.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify. Meta has said it will argue that its products did not cause K.G.M.’s mental health challenges. YouTube plans to argue that its platform differs fundamentally from social media services such as Instagram and TikTok and should not be treated the same under the law.
Public opinion and safety efforts
As the trial begins, the companies continue broader efforts to shape public opinion by highlighting safety tools and parental controls they say protect teenagers. The platforms have spent millions promoting these features and sponsoring educational initiatives across the United States.
Meta has backed parent workshops on teen online safety at dozens of high schools since 2018, including events held with the National PTA. TikTok has sponsored similar programs through local and regional PTAs, offering guidance on features such as limiting nighttime screen time. Google, YouTube’s parent company, has partnered with the Girl Scouts to promote digital safety lessons that earn participants a branded patch.
The companies have also assembled legal teams with experience in high-profile addiction litigation. Meta has hired attorneys who previously worked on opioid-related cases, while TikTok’s counsel has represented companies in disputes involving video game design and addiction claims.
“These companies are using every lever of influence you can imagine,” said Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction. “It can be very confusing for parents who to trust.”
