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YouTube has reached a confidential settlement with a 15-year-old American who claimed that the Google video platform and other social media networks harmed his mental health. The settlement comes three months after a groundbreaking verdict was delivered in a similar case.
Jose Castaneda, spokesperson for Google, confirmed the settlement and said the company had developed YouTube responsibly for more than a decade. Its focus continues to be on building age-appropriate products and parental control features.
The agreement contains no admission of liability.
The plaintiff’s lawyers, John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, said YouTube’s decision to settle the case before it went before a jury “speaks for itself”. They accuse social media company executives of “developing strategies for years to get kids hooked early” through features like autoplay and endless scrolling options.
Meta, the owner of Instagram, as well as TikTok and Snapchat, remain defendants in the case – the second of its kind in the US – which will be heard on July 27 in Los Angeles.
The plaintiff, identified only as RKC, is a Florida teenager who claims that social media use has contributed to anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, for which he continues to receive treatment.
His case was chosen as a test case to help settle thousands of similar lawsuits across the country.
The first test trial ended in March when a jury in Los Angeles ordered Meta and Google to pay $6 million (about R99 million) to a 20-year-old woman, known as KGM – the first verdict of its kind.
Snapchat and TikTok had already settled for undisclosed amounts before that trial.
In another case in New Mexico, Meta was found liable, because the company misled consumers about the safety risks that its platforms posed to children.
The jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million (about R6.1 billion) in damages.
In May, Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube also reached confidential settlements with a school district in Kentucky, thereby averting another possible trial in Oakland.
In a separate case, more than 30 US states are suing Meta over similar allegations. A trial could begin as early as August in Oakland.