Plaintiff reaches settlement with YouTube in Social Media Harm litigation

[Los Angeles, CA] – The law firms Morgan & Morgan and Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP announced today that they have reached a settlement-in-principle with YouTube in the ongoing Social Media Harm litigation. The amount of the settlement is confidential.

The case was brought by a minor plaintiff known as “R.K.C.” who sued the social media companies behind Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. R.K.C.’s case had been selected as the second bellwether trial in the Social Media Cases JCCP in California. The trial, set for July 27 in Los Angeles, will now move forward against the remaining three defendants: Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Snap Inc. (Snapchat) and ByteDance (TikTok). The first bellwether trial, on behalf of a minor known as “K.G.M.,” concluded in March with a $6 million verdict against Meta and YouTube.

“YouTube’s decision to resolve this case before having to face a jury speaks for itself. As jurors saw in the first bellwether trial, leadership at these social media companies have been strategizing for years to hook children early and maximize their usage with insidious features like autoplay and infinite scroll, all with the aim of increasing profits at the expense of the mental health of our youth,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Emily Jeffcott, who represents R.K.C. “The tide of the law and public opinion are shifting. While this settlement is another step in the right direction, we will continue fighting on behalf of all those affected by social media addiction to bring these companies to justice and compel them to prioritize the safety of their young users over their bottom lines.”

The case is part of the Social Media Cases JCCP,  JCCP No. 5255 in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.