Meta has avoided yet another high-profile legal battle that could have become one of the most talked-about proceedings against tech giants in the United States. The lawsuit, related to the alleged addiction of teenagers to social media, was officially dismissed just days before the trial was set to begin.
According to Meta’s statement, the plaintiff dropped all claims without receiving any financial compensation.
Earlier, similar settlements with the plaintiff had already been reached by TikTok, YouTube (owned by Google), as well as Snap, which confirmed a preliminary resolution of the dispute shortly before the case was closed.
A jury trial was scheduled to begin next week in the California Superior Court in Los Angeles.
The plaintiff was a teenager from Florida, identified in court documents by the initials “RKC.” He alleged that major social platforms deliberately use mechanics that create addiction in underage users.
This case was just one of thousands of similar lawsuits filed by teenagers, educational institutions, and state attorneys general across the United States against the largest technology companies.
Had the case gone to a final court ruling, it could have set an important legal precedent and influenced the further development of popular social media features, including infinite scrolling, algorithmic recommendations, and the system of constant notifications.
As we previously reported, about the massive lawsuits filed by U.S. states against Meta, legal pressure on the company remains one of the most serious challenges to its business.
The decision to drop the current lawsuit came several months after Meta’s legal defeat in New Mexico. There, a court for the first time found the company liable in a case related to the potential harm of social media to underage users. As a result of the proceedings, Meta was ordered to pay a $375 million fine after the court concluded that the company had misled users about the safety of its services and had inadequately protected children.
However, not all legal proceedings end in defeat for Meta. In March of this year, a jury also delivered another verdict in favor of Meta and Google, awarding the defendants compensation of approximately $6 million.
During preparations for the current case, Meta planned to argue that the plaintiff had used Facebook and Instagram for only a few minutes a day, and that a significant portion of his accounts had been registered after he had already contacted lawyers.
Commenting on the dismissal of the case, company representatives stated that the decision confirms their readiness to consistently defend against lawsuits that, in Meta’s view, lack sufficient grounds.
