Snapchat settles teen addiction case mid-trial, terms undisclosed

Snap Inc. settled a lawsuit mid-trial over allegations that it built Snapchat to hook young users, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Monday. The case was brought by two teenagers who say the platform's design fueled their depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Settlement terms were not disclosed.

Jury selection had kicked off just last week in Los Angeles state court. It was the second trial there over claims that young people became compulsive social media users after Snap, Meta, TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube designed their apps to encourage endless scrolling. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had been expected to take the stand; the deal means he won't.

The plaintiffs, identified as S.J., a 16-year-old from Illinois, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, say they started on YouTube as early as age 3 and picked up the other platforms around age 9. They blame features like autoplay and infinite scroll for habits they couldn't shake. They had already settled with Meta, TikTok and YouTube.

This case wasn't random. It was plucked from thousands of pending suits as a bellwether — a test run meant to show how the claims against Snap and its rivals might play out. Plaintiffs' attorneys John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott said the settlements keep them building toward holding social media companies accountable for millions of children. The next bellwether trials are set for March.

Snap pushed back on the core allegation. A company spokesperson pointed to built-in safeguards, safety tutorials and partnerships with experts, adding that Snap is committed to continually strengthening the safety, privacy and well-being of its community. Snap and its peers have consistently denied that their platforms were designed to addict kids.

The pressure is far from over. In the first case to reach trial in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent and awarded a young woman $6 million US. Meta also lost a New Mexico suit and was ordered to pay $375 million US, then struck settlements worth up to $18 billion US with nearly every state and territory in August — with $5 billion US tied to the states landing similar deals with Snap, TikTok and YouTube. Roughly 30 states have filed suit, and lawmakers from Australia to Canada are weighing teen social media bans.