The news: TikTok and Snap reached settlements in landmark addiction lawsuits just before a trial over youth mental health was set to begin.

• ByteDance’s TikTok settled just before jury selection in Los Angeles Superior Court. Terms with the plaintiff, identified as K.G.M., were not disclosed, per Reuters, but the settlement removes TikTok from this case while it remains a defendant in other suits.
• Snap agreed to settle a similar case brought by the same plaintiff last week, closing its involvement in the first bellwether trial that would have put its CEO’s testimony on record.

Zooming in: Meta (Instagram, Facebook) and Google’s YouTube are still slated to head to court on allegations that their platforms were designed to addict teens through infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds. 

More than 900 related lawsuits versus social platforms—from individual families, school districts, and state attorneys general—are moving forward under similar claims that social media’s addictive design constitutes a negligently marketed product that poses a danger to minors.

TikTok and Snap are choosing containment over setting the precedent for future inquiries. Settling early keeps their internal research, intellectual property, and executive testimony out of the public record.

What this means for brands: Social media is entering a risk-adjusted era. Brands that depend on it need to recalibrate expectations, measurement, and media mix.

Pressure on social media for its effect on younger users will continue to intensify after Australia enacted an under-16 ban, even as some platforms are trying to be proactive. Sustaining brand trust could be an uphill battle.

Brands that diversify platforms and build owned channels rather than rely too heavily on any single network could rise above industry uncertainty.

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