Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has reached a settlement in a trial brought by two teenagers who allege that the company designed its platform to be addictive, contributing to their depression, anxiety and eating disorders, attorneys for the plaintiffs said. The plaintiffs had previously reached settlements with Meta, TikTok and YouTube over similar claims.
“Our ultimate goal is to hold these social media companies accountable for how their actions have impacted millions of children across the country, and these settlements allow us to keep building toward that goal,” John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, trial attorneys for plaintiff K.D.B., said in a statement.
Jury selection began last week for the trial, which was set to be the second in Los Angeles state court involving claims by young people who say they became addicted to social media after companies designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use.
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The case was set to be the first involving Snap in the sweeping litigation over social media’s impact on teenagers, after the company settled other cases that had been scheduled for trial. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel was expected to testify.
The case was selected from thousands of pending lawsuits as a bellwether trial, intended to test the claims against Snap and other companies and potentially influence how similar cases are resolved. The plaintiffs’ attorney said the next round of bellwether trials is scheduled to begin in March.
A Snap spokesperson said in a statement that the company has built safeguards, launched safety tutorials and partnered with experts. The company remains committed to “continually strengthening the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community.”
The plaintiffs include S.J., a 16-year-old girl from Illinois, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi. They alleged that they began using YouTube as early as age 3 and other social media platforms around age 9, developing compulsive habits that they attribute to features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling.
The companies have rejected the allegations, saying they have taken steps to make their platforms safe spaces for young people to express themselves.
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Social media companies are facing thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts brought by individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities. The lawsuits allege that the companies knowingly designed their platforms to addict children, contributing to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle another addiction lawsuit brought by U.S. states. The lawsuit alleged that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children, misled users about their safety and improperly collected children’s personal data.
The settlement marks another development in the growing legal battle over social media companies’ responsibility for the impact of their platforms on young users. While the agreement allows Snap to avoid a jury trial in this case, thousands of similar lawsuits remain pending across the country. The next round of bellwether trials is scheduled to begin in March 2027, as plaintiffs continue to seek accountability and changes to platform designs they say encourage compulsive use.