TikTok settles with US teenager ahead of social media addiction trial – RNZ

TikTok has settled a lawsuit with a teenager just weeks before the company was set to go to trial in a second landmark case over whether social media companies are responsible for the harms their products might cause. The 15-year-old Florida teenager, identified only by his initials RKC, has accused four social media companies of harming his mental health and previously reached a settlement agreement with YouTube on 23 June. This leaves only Meta and Snapchat as defendants in the trial which is scheduled to begin 27 July in Los Angeles. “We can confirm that a settlement in principle has been reached with TikTok,” law firm Morgan & Morgan, which represents the teenager, told AFP on Wednesday without specifying the terms. TikTok also previously settled a similar case, the first of its kind, in January before the trial started. This second trial, to be held in a Los Angeles courtroom, is considered another benchmark for how thousands of social media addiction lawsuits could play out in the United States. The Florida teenager claims that years of compulsive social media use contributed to severe psychological disorders – anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts – for which he is still receiving treatment. “These
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