A New Jersey teen has dropped her lawsuit against the owners of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube that alleged the social media platforms try to get users addicted and caused her a mental health crisis.
Emily Jeffcott, a lawyer for the plaintiff “P.M.Y,” told The New York Times that her client dropped the suit and settled with another defendant, TikTok, in order to move on with her life.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said in a statement that P.M.Y. “had a significant mental health condition that pre-dated her use of social media, and it’s clear that many of these cases fit the same pattern,” according to Reuters.
In its own statement, YouTube said that “our longstanding position that we provide safe, age-appropriate experiences and strong parental controls for young people and families,” according to Reuters.
P.M.Y’s case, first filed in 2023, was the third of nine filed in California Superior Court to act as potential grounds for a larger class action suit against the defendant companies.
The first case was won by plaintiff and California resident Kaley Glenn-Mills, who settled with TikTok and Snapchat owner Snap. Ms. Glenn-Mills, 20, was awarded $6 million in damages, though YouTube parent company Alphabet and Meta have indicated plans to appeal the ruling, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The plaintiff in the second of the nine cases, a Florida teen, settled with Snap, TikTok and YouTube before dropping his case against Meta, according to The New York Times.
Meta is also facing a federal trial in California federal court, which began Tuesday.
The federal suit against Meta involves California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey as plaintiffs. Another 25 states that have filed federal suits against Meta on those grounds are expected to have trials later, according to The Associated Press.
