TikTok reached a settlement late Monday with a California woman who accused the platform of deliberately engineering addictive features that damaged her mental health, avoiding the first jury trial in a wave of cases targeting the world's largest social media companies.

The agreement means TikTok would not stand trial alongside Meta and YouTube https://nationaltechnology.co.uk/Meta_TikTok_YouTube_Face_First_Jury_Trial_over_Claims_Platforms_Harm_Young_Users.php when jury selection began on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The case involves a 19-year-old identified as K.G.M. who claims she became addicted to social media platforms from age 10, experiencing depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts as a result. Snap, which owns Snapchat, settled with K.G.M. on 20 January on undisclosed terms.

Joseph VanZandt, one of the lead lawyers for K.G.M., confirmed the settlement but declined to disclose financial details. Mark Lanier, another plaintiff lawyer, said in a statement that "this is a good resolution, and we are pleased with the settlement."

The trial represents the first time social media companies will face a jury over allegations they intentionally designed products to addict young users. Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center and a plaintiff attorney, told a press briefing that the proceedings are unprecedented. Approximately 1,600 plaintiffs are involved across more than 350 families and 250 school districts.

K.G.M.'s case is one of roughly 22 "bellwether" trials chosen from thousands of coordinated lawsuits. The Guardian reported that if plaintiffs prove millions of children have been harmed, it could fundamentally change platform design and establish new liability avenues against tech companies. The initial trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and YouTube chief Neal Mohan are expected to testify. Key witnesses will also include Instagram's Adam Mosseri and experts in online harm, according to The Guardian. Plaintiffs are seeking financial damages and injunctive relief to alter platform designs and establish industry-wide safety standards.

The lawsuits target features including infinite scroll, video autoplay and algorithmic recommendations that plaintiffs argue create compulsive use patterns. Court documents cited by CNN show K.G.M. accessed platforms despite her mother using third-party blocking software, and was allegedly subjected to bullying and sextortion on Instagram before Meta addressed the issue after two weeks of coordinated reporting.

Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, told The Guardian that companies settling "don't want that stuff to be public". Julia Duncan, an attorney with the American Association for Justice, said unsealed documents will show employees acknowledging addictive features, with one Instagram worker calling the app "a drug" and another saying "lol, we're basically pushers".

The companies deny the allegations. José Castañeda, a YouTube spokesperson, told The Guardian that providing young people with "a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work". Meta and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment from multiple outlets.

The judge ruled in November that jurors must examine not only platform content but also design choices, potentially undermining the companies' longstanding reliance on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields platforms from liability for user-generated content. A separate series of federal trials involving more than 235 plaintiffs is scheduled for June in San Francisco.

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