YouTube settles upcoming bellwether trial over social media's psychological harms to kids

LOS ANGELES (CN) — YouTube and its parent company Google have reached a confidential settlement with R.K.C., the unnamed defendant in a second bellwether trial over the effects of social media on minors.

“This matter has been amicably resolved and our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise,” said Google spokesman José Castañeda in an email.

The trial, scheduled to begin July 27, will now pit R.K.C., a 15-year-old African-American teen living in Florida, against three tech giants: Meta, TikTok and Snap. R.K.C. began using the platforms when he was 8.

“Social media became a central part of his daily life during critical developmental years,” one of his lawyers wrote in an email.

“R.K.C.’s social media use escalated over time and was followed by worsening mental health symptoms,” said the attorney. “By November 2023, his condition had deteriorated to the point that he entered mental health treatment, where he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.”

This is the second of nearly 2,500 plaintiffs in a consolidated case in Southern California suing Google, TikTok, Snap and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. The plaintiffs say the social media and streaming platforms were designed in ways that caused or worsened depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia in minors.

The first bellwether trial, held earlier this year, ended with a jury awarding a 20-year-old woman, identified as Kaley G.M., $6 million, with 70% to be paid by Meta and 30% by Google. TikTok and Snap had already reached confidential settlements with Kaley in the weeks before her trial.

Two weeks ago, Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl rejected motions by Google and Meta for a new trial. The companies have said they plan to appeal the judgment, but haven’t done so yet.

There are eight more bellwether trials being prepared, including R.K.C.’s. The verdicts in those test cases could, in theory, be used to hammer out a global settlement, satisfying all the claims against the tech companies. Such a settlement could see the companies pay out billions, or even tens of billions of dollars, and even lead to major reforms in the industry.

Until recently, social media companies were shielded from most lawsuits by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from litigation over content. But the plaintiffs in this litigation successfully argued that Section 230 does not shield tech companies from liability for their design features, such as “like” notifications, “infinite scroll” or “autoplay,” and “filters,” which alter the appearance of a subject in photographs. Plaintiffs say those design features have helped foment a mental health crisis among teenagers, causing depression, anxiety, addiction and a host of body image issues.

Much of Kaley’s trial focused on Instagram filters, some of which mimic the effects of certain kinds of plastic surgery — such as enlarged lips, a smaller nose, larger eyes or even added freckles — which have been heavily criticized for leading to body dysmorphia and low self-esteem among teenage girls.

Like the previous trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify in R.K.C’s trial, along with Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram. Plaintiffs also plan on calling Snapchat co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel, and two high-ranking TikTok executives, Jordan Furlong and Adam Wang — though not its CEO, Shou Zi Chew. As in the last trial, plaintiffs will be barred from presenting evidence about content shared on social media — specific posts or messages, for example.

But there will be some key differences between the two trials.

“With K.G.M., you had the issue of body dysmorphia,” said Emily Jeffcott, lead plaintiff’s attorney, in a phone interview last week, before the YouTube settlement was reached. “There was a focus on Instagram and the use of filters. You’re not going to see that in this case. This is more about autoplay and infinite scroll that you see on a lot of platforms.”

Perhaps the biggest difference will be the demographics of the two plaintiffs. R.K.C. is five years younger than Kaley, still a minor and still in high school. He’s also a Black male, while Kaley was a young white woman.

The collection of defendants is also different. Meta is now the only company heading into its second trial in a row. This new trial, to be held in the same courtroom with the same judge, will likely attract far less media coverage than the first.

And the next trial will not feature start plaintiff’s attorney Mark Lanier, the folksy, excitable Texan who moonlights as a pastor, and who charmed jurors and reporters alike with his props and hand-drawn “road maps” that offered previews of upcoming testimony. Lanier’s older daughter, Rachel, will be sitting at the plaintiff’s table.

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