TikTok Finalizing Trio of Settlements in Addiction Litigation

TikTok is finalizing agreements to settle three upcoming trials related to allegations that its video product is addictive and harmful to minors.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys Joseph VanZandt of Beasley Allen and Emily Jeffcott of Morgan & Morgan confirmed TikTok had resolved in principle with their clients, subject to the finalization of a written settlement agreement. The settlement amounts are confidential, they said in an email. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.

This trio of cases are part of broad litigation against the world’s largest social media companies, which includes individual plaintiffs alleging harm as well as US school districts and state attorneys general who have made similar claims. TikTok already settled two separate personal injury cases that were scheduled for trial in Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this year.

Related: Snap Nears Settlement of Addiction Case Ahead of Jury Trial

TikTok, Meta Platforms Inc., Google’s YouTube and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat are facing more than 3,000 individual complaints from young users or their families alleging that their products are addictive and have harmed the mental health of children.

The first of these cases went to trial in February, and a jury found Meta and Google liable for a 20-year-old woman’s mental health struggles, awarding her a total of $6 million in damages. The young woman, Kaley Glenn-Mills, said that her use of the platforms let to anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia. Google and Meta said they plan to appeal. TikTok and Snap, which were also named as defendants in that case, settled ahead of the trial.

A second personal injury trial was scheduled to begin in July, but TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube settled with the plaintiff. Meta had been set to defend itself, but in a surprise twist, the plaintiff — a 15-year-old boy from Florida — dismissed the case before the trial began.

Related: Meta Says States Seeking $1.4 Trillion in Penalties in August Youth Safety Trial

YouTube, Snap and Meta are still set to face the three personal injury trials in October. These cases are considered so-called bellwethers because they allow each side to test the strengths of their arguments and gauge how similar claims might play out. All three cases were filed by teen plaintiffs, identified only by their initials.

The first plaintiff, referred to simply as S.J., is a 15-year-old girl from Illinois who has alleged the social media platforms caused her to suffer from self-harm, anxiety, depression, addiction and an eating disorder. P.M.Y., another plaintiff who is also 15, is from New Jersey and has alleged addiction, depression and self-harm. The third plaintiff, K.D.B., is an 18-year-old from Mississippi who is claiming over-use of the platforms also caused anxiety, depression, addiction, self-harm and an eating disorder.

Top photo: The TikTok app page. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg.