YouTube and Google have settled a lawsuit brought by a 15-year-old who alleged the platform was designed to be addictive, resolving the case just weeks before it was scheduled to go to trial.
The lawsuit is part of a growing wave of legal challenges claiming that major social media platforms intentionally encourage excessive use among young people. It follows a similar California case involving a 20-year-old woman, identified only as K.G.M., who reached multimillion-dollar settlements with several tech companies, including Meta, Google, Snapchat, and TikTok.
The Florida teenager, identified in court documents as R.K.C., claimed YouTube and other platforms use addictive features that keep users engaged for long periods. According to the BBC, YouTube reached a settlement on June 23, ahead of a trial that had been scheduled for July 27 in California. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
In a statement to the BBC, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said, "This matter has been amicably resolved and our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise."
The case is one of more than 1,000 similar lawsuits alleging that social media companies knowingly created addictive products, particularly for younger users. The trial is expected to be overseen by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who also handled the earlier K.G.M. case.
Social media companies have continued to reject claims that their platforms cause clinical addiction. Earlier this year, Instagram head Adam Mosseri argued that while some users may experience "problematic use," it is different from a medically recognized addiction.
He compared the term to saying someone is "addicted" to binge-watching a Netflix series, rather than describing a clinical condition.