Meta addiction lawsuit dropped as plaintiff withdraws claims

The plaintiff, identified in court documents as R.K.C., previously secured settlements from TikTok, Google’s YouTube, and Snap. While the teenager’s case against Meta concludes without payment, the broader legal landscape remains volatile. Thousands of similar lawsuits from school districts, state attorneys general, and individual users continue to allege that tech platforms deliberately engineer features like infinite scrolling and notification loops to foster compulsive usage.

Meta had prepared a rigorous defense, intending to argue that the plaintiff’s actual platform engagement was limited to just minutes per day and that many accounts were only established after legal counsel was retained. The company framed the dismissal as a vindication, stating that it will continue to contest lawsuits it deems baseless. This outcome stands in contrast to earlier legal setbacks for the firm, including a $375 million penalty in New Mexico and a $6 million jury verdict in Los Angeles earlier this year, both involving claims of consumer deception and child safety risks.