Snap ends teen addiction lawsuit as final defendant to settle

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, resolved a lawsuit filed by two teenagers over social media addiction on Monday. The agreement prevents the case from going to trial later this month, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys. The company is the final major defendant in this specific legal battle to reach a settlement.

The plaintiffs, identified in court records as S.J. and K.D.B., argued that Snapchat was engineered to be addictive. They claimed that using the platform from a young age contributed to their mental health struggles. The lawsuit was part of a larger wave of cases where minors alleged that social media companies designed their apps to keep young users hooked.

Mark Lanier, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. He stated, "We are glad to reach resolution for our clients." Lanier added that he believed the jury would have found the companies' conduct reprehensible. Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Emily Jeffcott confirmed that the financial terms of the Snap settlement remain undisclosed.

Snap issued a statement saying the parties are pleased to have resolved the matter in an amicable manner. This settlement follows actions by other tech giants involved in the litigation. Alphabet and TikTok, the other named defendants in the suit, had already resolved their own allegations earlier in the process.

Legal experts view this case as one of several bellwether matters in the field. In a similar decision earlier this year, a jury found Meta and Google-owned YouTube liable for harming a lead plaintiff. That jury awarded $6 million in damages. Meta also reached a separate agreement in August with dozens of U.S. states. In that deal, Meta agreed to pay up to a set amount and implement new child-safety measures on its platforms.

The U.S. states accused Meta of deliberately designing its products to be addictive. They also claimed the company misled the public about the risks of the technology. The Snap settlement closes the chapter on this specific group of lawsuits, leaving the door open for other similar cases to proceed to trial.