A Florida teenager who sued Meta alleging he was addicted and harmed by using platforms like Instagram has dropped his case.

The 15-year-old plaintiff, known by the initials RKC, had in recent weeks settled the same lawsuits against TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, all of which have been accused in a large lawsuit of creating addictive platforms harmful to children.

RKC’s claims were set to go before a Los Angeles jury next week as part of a lawsuit in which Meta and YouTube already lost once.

A Meta spokeswoman told the BBC: “The claims were never sustained, and this result makes clear that we will not stop defending ourselves against unfounded claims.”

RKC lawyers Emily Jeffcott and Rahul Ravipudi told the BBC that the young plaintiff “came to this process wanting to hold social media companies accountable and push for changes to protect young people like him.”

“He did that,” they added.

The attorneys expressed concern about a jury trial that would drag on for weeks and said RKC was “ready to close this chapter and focus on his recovery and engage in therapy as he aspires to a normal life.”

The Meta spokeswoman said it did not receive any payment for withdrawing its claims.

RKC had claimed that common features of social media, such as infinite scrolling and autoplay, which continually and automatically show users new content on a platform, fueled compulsive use that became a type of addiction.

He argued that it caused him anxiety and lack of sleep, among other problems.

Meta and YouTube faced similar accusations from a young woman during the initial trial.

Ultimately, a jury found them responsible for harming his mental health and they were ordered to pay him $6 million (£4.4 million) in damages.

It was the first time that social media platforms were held responsible for their effects on users.

Both companies have now appealed that verdict.

The Los Angeles Superior Court is overseeing hundreds of lawsuits making similar claims of addiction and harm against social media companies. A small number of cases have been selected to go to trial.

The next one will begin in October, according to court records.

Across the United States, there are thousands of lawsuits accusing Meta and other major social media platforms of harming young children.

In May, Meta settled for an undisclosed amount with a school district that had sued it for negatively impacting students, to the point that schools incurred costs related to student well-being. The school district had sought $60 million in damages.

That settlement came shortly after a New Mexico judge told Meta to pay $375 million for misleading users about the safety of its children’s platforms.