Young

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

REECE YOUNG, et al., Case No. 22-cv-01883-VC

Plaintiffs,

ORDER RE MOTION TO DISMISS

v. Re: Dkt. No. 51 BYTEDANCE INC., et al., Defendants.

As part of their jobs, Reece Young and Ashley Velez watched hours of disturbing videos showing necrophilia, bestiality, violence against children, and the like. Both Young and Velez worked for independent “content moderation” firms that were hired by TikTok, a popular social media app. They say that TikTok failed to adopt reasonable measures to mitigate the harm from these videos, and that they suffered psychological injuries as a result. The primary question here is whether the complaint adequately alleges that TikTok controlled the moderators’ work to such a degree that it can be held liable for its alleged negligence, even though Young and Velez were directly employed by other companies. The answer is yes. But, for the reasons explained below, Young and Velez cannot bring a separate claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law. The motion to dismiss is therefore denied in part and granted in part. I At the motion to dismiss stage, a court accepts the…