TikTok Dodges Trial In Landmark Social Media Addiction Case

TikTok settled with a plaintiff early Tuesday morning just as a landmark trial against major social media companies began in Los Angeles.

The popular platform is one of four companies facing hundreds of lawsuits alleging they knowingly designed addictive products that expose children to danger, predatory exploitation and self-harm. The trial, which began Tuesday morning at a federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, is set to bring together 24 bellwether cases selected from hundreds of related lawsuits accusing the platforms of harm.

As the first week of the trial began with jury selection, TikTok announced the settlement. Few details have been disclosed about the terms of the agreement. (RELATED: Americans View Big Tech Proliferation As ‘Threat To Human Flourishing’ In US, Analysts Say)

“Yesterday we published a report that included unsealed court documents, shining a light on TikTok for knowingly violating COPPA [Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act] and for working with the National PTA and FOSI to sanitize their reckless, dangerous products,” Tech Oversight Project Executive Director Sacha Haworth said in a press release. “This settlement should come as no surprise because that damning evidence is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on January 23, 2026 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“This was only the first case — there are hundreds of parents and school districts in the social media addiction trials that start today, and sadly new families every day who are speaking out and bringing Big Tech to court for its deliberately harmful products,” Haworth added.

The case involving TikTok centered on a 19-year-old California girl identified as K.G.M., who alleged she became addicted to social media platforms because of their attention-grabbing design. K.G.M. said the addiction began at a young age and later led to depression and suicidal thoughts, Reuters reported.

Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company, reached a settlement with the same California teen on Jan. 20, according to Reuters.

The decision from TikTok comes just days after the company secured its future in the U.S. on Thursday.

The company released a press statement revealing that TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC would now be in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order from September 2025.

The new establishment will enable “more than 200 million Americans and 7.5 million businesses to continue to discover, create, and thrive as part of TikTok’s vibrant global community and experience” as the Joint Venture will “operate under defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for U.S. users,” according to the company.

Despite TikTok’s exit from the case, Meta and Alphabet will go to trial in California, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify next week.

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