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Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat, has settled a lawsuit brought by two teenagers who alleged the platform was designed to encourage compulsive use, leading to depression, anxiety and eating disorders, AnewZ reports.
The settlement was reached during jury selection in Los Angeles. The case had been scheduled to go to trial this week. The terms were not disclosed.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers, John Morgan and Emily Jeffcoat, said the settlement would allow them to keep questions of accountability in the social media industry in the public spotlight. They said their aim was to hold companies responsible for the impact of their activities on millions of children nationwide.
Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Teenagers accuse platforms of harmful design
Court filings identify the plaintiffs as S.J., 16, from Illinois, and K.D.B., 18, from Mississippi.
They said they began using YouTube at about age three and other social media platforms, including Snapchat, at about age nine. The teenagers alleged that features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling encouraged compulsive use of the platforms and contributed to mental health problems.
The cases were consolidated for trial and selected as bellwether cases from a broader group of claims. The teenagers had previously reached settlements with Meta, TikTok and YouTube, which is owned by Google.
The settlement with Snap has prevented the company from facing its first trial in the broader litigation. Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel had been expected to testify.
Mark Lanier, the plaintiffs’ trial lawyer, said families should not have to take their cases to a jury to address the problem. Teenagers need lasting solutions that protect children and meaningful design changes, rather than temporary fixes in individual cases, he said. Lanier added that they would continue to pursue such cases in court until that happened.
Companies reject allegations
Snap, Meta, TikTok and YouTube face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts. The claims have been brought by individuals, school districts, municipalities and government agencies. They allege that the companies knowingly designed their services to make children dependent on the platforms, contributing to a youth mental health crisis.
The companies deny the allegations, saying their platforms were not designed to be addictive to young people. They point to safety measures for families, parental controls and other resources.
The first bellwether case to reach trial concluded in March. A jury in Los Angeles found Meta and YouTube negligent and awarded $6 million in damages to a young woman.
Both companies later sought a new trial, but a judge rejected their requests in June. The companies said they would appeal the decision.
Settlements have been reached or claims withdrawn in other cases selected for early trials. The school district chosen as the first plaintiff to go to trial also reached settlements with all four companies.
In August, Meta reached settlements with nearly all U.S. states and territories to resolve claims brought by attorneys general over the impact of its platforms on teenagers. The settlements could total $18 billion and include changes involving young users on Instagram and Facebook.
Some of the proposed payments were conditional on states also reaching similar settlements with Snap, TikTok and YouTube.
Snap shares rose more than 5% on Monday after news of the settlement emerged, according to market data cited by Bloomberg.
