A 15-year-old plaintiff from New Jersey has dropped her lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Google and Snap Inc ahead of scheduled October bellwether trials, according to court filings in California. The dismissal was filed Thursday in Los Angeles state court, removing P. M-Y. from more than 3,300 consolidated personal injury cases pending in the jurisdiction. Her attorney, Emily Jeffcott, stated the decision was made to allow the teenager to resume her life while acknowledging the original intent to hold social media companies accountable for protecting young users.
The case had alleged that Meta, Google and Snap contributed to social media addiction, depression and self-harm. The companies confirmed the plaintiff dismissed her claims without any payment, and TikTok, also named in the suit, had previously settled its claims. Meta is currently defending two separate trials: a federal case in Oakland involving 29 states and a state case in Nashville brought by Tennessee, both alleging the company designed addictive platforms for children and misled the public about safety measures.
Meta reiterated its position that the plaintiff had a pre-existing mental health condition and that many similar cases follow a comparable pattern. Google-owned YouTube emphasized its provision of age-appropriate experiences and parental controls, while Snap stated it remains focused on enhancing safeguards, tools and educational resources to support user safety, privacy and well-being. The first individual trial in March resulted in a $4.2 million verdict against Meta and a $1.8 million verdict against Google, though those outcomes do not apply to the dismissed claims.
