A 15-year-old girl from New Jersey dropped a lawsuit against Meta, Google, and Snap after accusing the social media companies of designing their platforms to addict young users, according to a report.
Citing court documents, Reuters reported that the plaintiff — identified by the initials P.M-Y. — dismissed her claims on Thursday. Her case had been scheduled for trial in October, the media outlet noted.
P.M-Y. had also brought claims against TikTok, but that portion of the case was previously resolved, according to the report.
The lawsuit was one of thousands accusing major technology companies of deliberately designing social media platforms to keep children addicted and contributing to depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems.
“I’m disgusted. I’m angry. We all should be angry,” New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a video she shared on X.
Meta, Google, Snap, as well as other companies, have denied allegations that their products caused those harms.
Meta points to measures including restrictions preventing unknown adults from messaging teenagers, warnings involving suicide and eating-disorder content, and tools encouraging users to take breaks from social media.
In 2024, Instagram also introduced Teen Accounts, which automatically place younger users under stricter privacy and content settings.
Critics argued those safeguards don’t go far enough.
Former Meta engineering director and whistleblower Arturo Béjar testified that the company took what he characterized as a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to children under 13 using Instagram. He alleged Meta possessed technology capable of identifying underage users but failed to aggressively deploy it.
Béjar also criticized features such as Instagram’s “Take a Break” tool, arguing that requiring users to activate protections themselves limits their effectiveness.
“If you step away from the product, they are not going to make any money,” he said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
