Snap Settles With Two Teens As Social Media Trial Ends

Snap Inc reached a settlement with two teenagers on Monday, resolving a trial in Los Angeles state court that had been set to test whether the company’s platform design caused mental health issues. The case involved plaintiffs S.J., a 16-year-old from Illinois, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi. Both alleged that they began using YouTube as early as age 3 and other social media platforms around age 9. They claimed features such as autoplay and infinite scroll led to compulsive habits, resulting in depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Jury selection for the trial had started the previous week. This was the second Los Angeles trial concerning claims by young people who said they became addicted to social media after platforms designed by Snap, Meta Platforms, TikTok, and Alphabet’s YouTube encouraged compulsive use. The plaintiffs had already reached agreements with Meta, TikTok, and YouTube before this specific Snap trial commenced. A spokesperson for Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the settlement terms.

Attorneys John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, who represented K.D.B. at trial, stated that their goal is to hold social media companies accountable for their impact on children. They noted in a statement that these settlements allow them to continue building toward that objective. The trial was intended to be the first for Snap in the broader litigation regarding social media’s effect on teens. Snap had settled other cases previously scheduled for trial. Company Chief Executive Evan Spiegel was expected to provide testimony but did not do so due to the settlement.

The companies have generally rejected claims that their platforms were designed to addict young users. They maintain that they have taken steps to make their apps safe spaces for youth expression. Legal battles over these issues continue across federal and state courts. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by individuals, school districts, municipalities, and other government entities. These plaintiffs allege the companies knowingly sought to addict children, contributing to a youth mental health crisis involving anxiety, depression, and suicide.

In the first case to go to trial, which concluded in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent. The jury awarded a young woman $6 million in damages. Following that verdict, the next two teens selected for trials either settled or dropped their claims against the companies. The first school district chosen for trial also settled with all involved companies. In August, Meta struck settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every state and US territory to resolve lawsuits brought by attorneys general. As part of those deals, Meta agreed to modify how Instagram and Facebook function for teens. The agreement conditioned $5 billion of the payout on states reaching similar settlements with Snap, TikTok, and YouTube.