TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin

Summary

TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to beginLily JamaliNorth America Technology correspondent, San FranciscoGetty ImagesTikTok has reached a settlement to avoid it being involved in a landmark social media addiction trial - a matter of hours before jury selection was due to begin in California.The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified by the initials KGM, alleges the design of platforms' algorithms left her addicted to social media and negatively affected her mental health."The parties are pleased to have reached an amicable resolution of this dispute," the Social Media Victims Law Center said of the TikTok settlement, adding the terms were confidential.The defendants now include Meta - which owns Instagram and Facebook and YouTube parent Google. Snapchat settled with the plaintiff last week. 'Dangerous and addictive algorithms'The named social media companies have said the plaintiff's evidence falls short of proving they are responsible for alleged harms such as depression and eating disorders.The case going to trial marks a distinct shift in how the US legal system treats tech firms, which face mounting claims that their products lead to addictive behaviours.The companies have long argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed by Congress in 1996, exempts platforms from liability for what third parties post.But at issue in this case are design choices about algorithms, notifications and other features that affect how people use their apps.KGM's attorney, Matthew Bergman, told the BBC the case will be the first time a social media company has been held to account by a jury at trial."Unfortunately, there are all too many kids in the United States, the UK, and around the world who are suffering as KGM does because of the dangerous and addictive algorithms that the social media platforms foist on unsuspecting kids," he said."These companies are going to have to explain to a jury why their profits were more important than the...