Ahead of an October trial, TikTok agreed to confidential settlements in three bellwether lawsuits brought by minors, plaintiffs’ lawyer Joseph VanZandt said.

The lawsuits alleged that the video-sharing app was designed to be addictive and harmed the minors’ mental health.

The settlements, which still require final written agreements, involve plaintiffs from Illinois, New Jersey, and Mississippi.

Claims against Meta, Google’s YouTube, Snap, and its Snapchat app will continue in the litigation before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, which includes about 3,300 similar suits.

The settlements follow a March bellwether verdict in which a Los Angeles jury awarded a California woman US$6 million in her case against Meta and Google over claims that Instagram and YouTube were deliberately designed to be addictive.

TikTok and Snap had previously settled with that plaintiff before trial.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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