Google’s YouTube has settled a social media addiction case brought by a 15-year-old in Florida, avoiding a trial that was due to examine how platforms allegedly fuel a mental health crisis among children.
The teenager, identified only as R.K.C. in court documents, had accused YouTube and other social media firms of deliberately designing their platforms to be addictive. The settlement was confirmed by Google spokesman José Castañeda, who told the BBC: “This matter has been amicably resolved and our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise.”
“YouTube settles addiction case with Florida teen; he still sues Meta, TikTok and Snap in July trial.”
But R.K.C.’s legal fight is not over. He is also suing Instagram-parent Meta, TikTok and Snap Inc in a trial currently scheduled to begin on 27 July in Los Angeles, before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl. That case is the second in a series of “bellwether” trials intended to resolve more than 1,000 similar lawsuits pending in California.
The first such trial took place earlier this year, brought by a 20-year-old California woman known as K.G.M. She accused Meta and YouTube of intentionally designing platforms to addict young users, while Snap and TikTok settled before trial for undisclosed sums. A jury awarded K.G.M $6m (£4.5m) – the first time a court had held Meta and YouTube liable for the mental health effects of their platforms on certain users. That same week, a separate jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375m for misleading users about the safety of its platforms for children.
R.K.C.’s claims mirror K.G.M.’s, according to court documents. He argues that features such as infinite scroll and autoplay – which continuously feed new content – drove compulsive use, causing him anxiety, sleep deprivation and other harms.
In a statement, his attorneys John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott said: “As jurors saw in the first bellwether trial, leadership at these social media companies have been strategizing for years to hook children early and maximize their usage.”
Google has defended its approach, saying it built YouTube “responsibly – working with families to give young people safer, more helpful experiences online” for more than a decade. The platform launched YouTube Kids, a version designed and curated for children, in 2015.
The settlement comes weeks after Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok agreed to resolve a separate case brought by a Kentucky school district, which accused the companies of creating a mental health crisis for its students. All four companies chose to settle rather than go to trial.
With more than 1,000 cases still pending in California – and R.K.C.’s trial against Meta, TikTok and Snap set to begin next month – the legal reckoning for social media giants is only intensifying.