Teen Drops Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Against Meta Ahead of Trial
A Florida teenager has withdrawn his lawsuit against Meta, ending legal claims that the company’s social media platforms contributed to his alleged addiction and harmed his mental health.
The 15-year-old plaintiff, identified in court documents only by the initials R.K.C., had accused Meta of designing platforms such as Instagram with addictive features that encouraged compulsive use among young people.
The case had been scheduled to go before a Los Angeles jury next week as part of a broader wave of lawsuits targeting major social media companies over their alleged impact on children’s mental health.
In recent weeks, the teenager had also settled similar claims against TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, all of which were named in the wider litigation.
Meta welcomed the decision to discontinue the lawsuit, saying the claims lacked merit.
A company spokesperson said the outcome demonstrated that Meta would continue to defend itself against what it described as baseless legal actions.
Lawyers representing the teenager said their client had pursued the case to encourage greater accountability among social media companies and push for stronger protections for young users.
They explained that after considering the prospect of a lengthy jury trial, the teenager decided to focus on his recovery and mental health through therapy.
Meta said no financial settlement was paid to the plaintiff in exchange for dropping the lawsuit.
The teenager had argued that platform features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay encouraged excessive use, leading to anxiety, sleep deprivation and other mental health challenges.
Meta and YouTube previously faced similar allegations in an earlier trial involving another young user. In that case, a jury found both companies liable for harming the plaintiff’s mental health and awarded $6 million in damages. The verdict marked the first time social media companies had been held legally responsible for the effects of their platforms on a user. Both firms are appealing the ruling.
The Los Angeles Superior Court is currently handling hundreds of similar lawsuits alleging that social media platforms contribute to addiction and psychological harm among children and teenagers, with additional cases expected to proceed to trial.
The next trial is scheduled to begin in October.
Beyond California, thousands of lawsuits have been filed across the United States against Meta and other major technology companies over the alleged impact of their platforms on young users.
Earlier this year, Meta reached an undisclosed settlement with a school district that claimed the company’s platforms had negatively affected students’ wellbeing, while a New Mexico court ordered the company to pay $375 million after finding it had misled users about the safety of its platforms for children.
