Meta Avoids Second Addiction Trial as Teen Accuser Drops Case

Meta Platforms Inc. won’t have to face a second trial over claims that social media platforms are addictive to minors because the plaintiff is dismissing the case, according to his lawyers.

Meta had been set to defend itself before a jury in California state court in Los Angeles next week over allegations that it created harmful products, including Instagram and Facebook. Meta and the three other companies that own the world’s largest social media platforms face more than 3,000 individual lawsuits alleging their products cause a range of harms.

Lawyers for the teenage boy from Florida at the center of the July 27 trial — who is identified in court filings as R.K.C. — said Wednesday he’s chosen to withdraw his claims against Meta “in light of the overall successful result of the litigation and his concerns about enduring a grueling weekslong trial.”

“R.K.C. came into this process wanting to hold social media companies accountable and push for changes to protect young people like himself. He did that,” his attorneys, Emily Jeffcott and Rahul Ravipudi, said in a statement. “He’s ready to close this chapter and focus on his recovery and engage in therapy as he aspires to have a normal life.”

Meta hailed the dismissal of the case as a victory.

“Days after settling with other social media companies, the plaintiff dropped his case against Meta, the only remaining defendant, without receiving any payment,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “The claims never held up, and this outcome makes clear that we will not back away from defending ourselves against baseless lawsuits.”

Google’s YouTube and TikTok, which were also named as defendants, earlier struck settlement agreements with R.K.C. and his family. Snap Inc. said Monday that the company had reached a tentative accord to settle the claims.

R.K.C.’s case was set to be the second to go to trial among thousands of complaints filed by young users and their family members. The first trial started in February. A jury in Los Angeles 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 dismissal of R.K.C.’s case would be the first by the plaintiffs’ side of a case set for trial.

Read More: How Lawsuits Alleging Social Media Harms Threaten Big Tech

R.K.C., a 15-year-old from Panama City, Florida, said he started using social media when he was just eight. He would spend up to 10 hours a day on the platforms and developed insomnia from nonstop scrolling. His alleged injuries included social media addiction, severe depression, suicidal ideation, binge eating disorder, panic disorder and anxiety.

In court filings, Meta said company data showed that R.K.C. created accounts on Instagram and Facebook about six months before filing suit and that he averaged less than 10 minutes a day on either platform.

A handful of lawsuits — including R.K.C.’s — had been selected to serve as so-called bellwether cases. These cases allow each side to test the strengths of their arguments and gauge how similar claims might play out.

The case is R.K.C. vs. Meta Platforms Inc., 23STCV31485, California Superior Court (Los Angeles).