YouTube settles teen addiction lawsuit ahead of California social media trial

Google's YouTube has reached an out‑of‑court settlement with a 16‑year‑old Florida teenager who claimed the platform’s design contributed to his social‑media addiction, sleep loss, depression and anxiety. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the settlement prevents the case from going to a jury in a California state court.

The settlement comes just before a second California trial set to begin on July 27, which will address similar allegations against Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Earlier California verdicts found Meta and Google negligent for platform features that encouraged excessive use, awarding multimillion‑dollar damages. More than 3,300 related lawsuits remain pending in California state courts, with thousands more in federal filings across the United States.