TikTok Settles Landmark Social Media Addiction Case Hours Before Trial

TikTok avoided becoming the first social media platform to face trial over addiction allegations by reaching a confidential settlement hours before jury selection was scheduled to begin in Oakland, California. The lawsuit, filed by a 20-year-old plaintiff identified as KGM, claimed TikTok's algorithm intentionally fostered addictive behaviors that led to depression and eating disorders. This settlement follows Snapchat's similar pre-trial agreement last week, leaving Meta (parent of Instagram and Facebook) and Google (YouTube's parent) as remaining defendants in the case.

The case marks a pivotal challenge to tech giants' longstanding legal shield. While Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act typically protects platforms from liability over user-generated content, KGM's attorneys successfully argued that algorithmic design choices—not third-party posts—are the core issue. "These companies must explain why profits outweighed young people's wellbeing," said plaintiff attorney Matthew Bergman, who noted this would have been the first jury trial holding social media platforms accountable for addiction harms.

Internal documents detailing platform design decisions were expected to be central evidence. Law professor Mary Graw Leary noted: "Companies have shielded these mechanisms from public scrutiny. Now they'll face examination in court." Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains scheduled to testify early in proceedings, despite his 2024 congressional testimony denying causal links between social media and mental health declines. Legal analysts observe executives often struggle under cross-examination; George Washington University's Mary Anne Franks stated: "Tech firms desperately wanted to avoid top-level testimony."