Outside Los Angeles County Superior Court in Los Angeles, the venue for a planned lawsuit against Meta regarding child social media addiction, on Feb. 2, 2026. Meta on Oct. 30 settled the lawsuit, the fourth of nine bellwether personal injury lawsuits against the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. (Stella Kalinina/The New York Times)
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SAN FRANCISCO — Meta on Friday settled its latest lawsuit over child social media addiction that was headed to trial, delaying its ongoing legal battle amid a string of recent setbacks.
The case, brought by an 18-year-old Mississippi woman and set to go to trial in Los Angeles Superior Court next week, was the fourth of nine bellwether personal injury lawsuits against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap over claims the companies’ products are addictive like cigarettes. YouTube and TikTok also settled similar claims with the Mississippi teenager, identified only by her initials as K.D.B., leaving Snap as the lone company expected to defend itself in court.
The bellwether cases were picked by a California Superior Court judge from thousands of similar lawsuits and could lead to massive financial penalties and settlements for the tech companies. They also test a novel legal theory that social media features like infinite scroll and algorithmic feeds can cause personal injury.
Meta and YouTube lost the first case in March filed by a young California woman who had accused the companies of negligence and personal injury for their addictive features. A jury found the companies liable of harming her with the design of their platforms and awarded her $6 million in damages. Two of the other cases against Meta were dropped.
Meta previously settled with another plaintiff, a 16-year-old from Illinois known as S.J., in the same case slated for trial next week. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“We remain committed to improving safety for kids on social media apps and holding tech companies accountable, and we are pleased to have brought this matter to a just resolution on behalf of our client,” Emily Jeffcott, K.D.B.’s lawyer, said in a statement.
Meta said in a statement that dismissals and settlements were common in the bellwether process, and that the company was committed to protecting its young users.
“We will continue to defend ourselves in court, and we stand by our record,” the company said.
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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Eli Tan/Stella Kalinina
c. 2026 The New York Times Company
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