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Google's YouTube settles social media addiction case with teen
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Google's YouTube has settled a social media addiction case brought by a 15-year-old in Florida, in a fresh legal blow for online platforms accused of fuelling a mental health crisis among children.
Key facts
- A jury ultimately awarded K.G.M $6m (£4.5m), the first time a court had found that Meta and YouTube were liable for their platforms' mental health effects on certain users
- The same week, a jury in New Mexico told Meta to pay $375m for misleading users over the safety of its platforms for children
- R.K.C. is also suing Instagram-parent Meta, TikTok, and Snap Inc in a trial currently set to begin on 27 July in Los Angeles
- R.K.C.'s allegations will be the second trial in a series being overseen by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl to resolve more than 1,000 similar cases in California
Summary
The teenager, who used the initials R.K.C. in court documents, alleged that YouTube and other social media firms had designed their platforms to be addictive. "This matter has been amicably resolved and our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise," Google spokesman José Castañeda said BBC. R.K.C. is also suing Instagram-parent Meta, TikTok, and Snap Inc in a trial currently set to begin on 27 July in Los Angeles. R.K.C.'s allegations will be the second trial in a series being overseen by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl to resolve more than 1,000 similar cases in California.