Snap reaches settlement with two social media victims, avoiding trial

The settlement resolves the cases of two unnamed plaintiffs, whose trial was set to begin on Wednesday.LOS ANGELES (CN) — Snap Inc. reached a confidential settlement Monday with two plaintiffs who sued four major social media companies over mental health harms they say they suffered as teenagers, on the eve of trial.The tech company, maker of the messaging app Snapchat, was the last remaining defendant in the bellwether trial, where jury selection was already underway.The plaintiffs, identified in court as S.J., a female minor, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old woman, are among more than 2,000 people who say apps like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok caused them to become hopelessly addicted to their phones, leading to depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia.“Families shouldn’t have to go jury by jury to solve a problem this big," said plaintiff’s attorney Mark Lanier in a written statement. “What these teenagers need is a permanent fix, real design changes that protect kids, not case-by-case patches. Until that happens, we will keep trying these cases.”A Snap spokesman said in a written statement: “The Parties are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner.” She added: “Snapchat was built to encourage real conversations with real friends. We’ve built safeguards, launched safety tutorials, and partnered with experts and because safety is never finished, we remain committed to continually strengthening the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community.”The other three defendants, Meta, Google and TikTok, had already reached confidential settlements with the two plaintiffs. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel were scheduled to testify at the trial, which was set to begin Wednesday.The first bellwether trial, held earlier this year, ended with a jury awarding Kaley G.M. $6 million on her claims against Meta and Google after she had settled with Snap and TikTok. Meta and Google appealed, and those appeals are pending.The next trials are scheduled to begin in March 2027.Until recently, social media companies were largely shielded from liability by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from lawsuits over third-party content. But plaintiffs in the consolidated youth social media cases successfully argued the companies could still be held liable for design features such as “likes,” autoplay and infinite scroll, which they say encourage teens to compulsively use the apps. They also targeted “beauty filters” on Instagram and Snapchat, which they say can cause or worsen body dysmorphia.Snap also faces a lawsuit from the parents of more than 75 teens who died of fentanyl overdoses. The parents say their children bought drugs from dealers they met through Snapchat, which they call an “open-air drug market.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads