A Florida teen’s social media addiction lawsuit against Meta has been dropped days before a Los Angeles trial, after similar claims against other platforms were settled.
A Florida teenager has dropped his social media addiction lawsuit against Meta, ending a case that was set to go before a Los Angeles jury next week. The teen, identified in court papers by the initials R.K.C., had claimed that Instagram and other platforms left him addicted and harmed his mental health.
The teen had already settled similar claims against TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube in recent weeks. Those companies have been named in a broader set of lawsuits arguing that social media products were designed in ways that make them addictive for children. Court proceedings involving Meta and YouTube had already produced one prior loss for the companies.
Meta said the case should never have moved forward. A company spokeswoman told the BBC that the claims “never held up” and said the dismissal showed Meta would keep fighting what it views as baseless lawsuits. The spokeswoman also said the teen received no payment for dropping the case.
Lawyers for R.K.C., Emily Jeffcott and Rahul Ravipudi, said their client wanted to hold social media companies accountable and push for changes to protect young people like himself. They also said he was concerned a jury trial could last for weeks and that he was ready to move on, focus on recovery, and continue therapy as he tries to live a normal life.
R.K.C. had argued that platform features such as infinite scroll and autoplay encouraged compulsive use that turned into addiction. He said the heavy use led to problems including anxiety and sleep loss. In an earlier trial, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman’s mental health and ordered them to pay her $6 million in damages, the first time social media platforms were held responsible for their effects on users.
The Los Angeles Superior Court is handling hundreds of similar cases against social media companies, with only a small number selected for trial. The next one is scheduled for October, according to court records. Across the country, thousands of lawsuits accuse Meta and other major platforms of harming children. Meta also settled with a school district in May for an undisclosed amount after the district said the company had hurt students enough to raise welfare costs. A New Mexico judge also ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a separate case over claims it misled users about child safety. For families, this fight is about who should bear the cost when social media use is said to cross the line from entertainment to harm.
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