Meta settles social media addiction suit before trial, leaving Snap as sole defendant

Meta exits the Los Angeles trial

Meta reached a settlement on Friday, 30 October, with an 18-year-old woman from Mississippi who sued the company over alleged social media addiction. The plaintiff is identified only by her initials, K.D.B. The financial terms have not been disclosed, and Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meta spokesperson Liza Crenshaw has said that settlements of this kind are common in the process and that many more cases remain to be tried. In a statement, her attorney, Emily Jeffcott, said her team remained committed to the cause.

“We remain committed to improving safety for kids on social media apps and holding tech companies accountable”

Snap is left as sole defendant

With the settlement, Snap is the only company still facing the case. YouTube and TikTok had already settled with K.D.B., so the trial now turns on Snap's platform alone. The case is the fourth of nine bellwether personal injury lawsuits against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap, chosen by a California Superior Court judge from thousands of similar claims. The cases test a novel legal theory that features such as infinite scroll and algorithmic feeds can cause personal injury. Evan Spiegel, Snap's chief executive, is expected to testify, which would be the first time the Snap founder has appeared in a social media addiction trial. The trial could last several weeks.

A Snap spokesperson did not comment on Meta's settlement but rejected the lawsuit's account of how Snapchat works. The company said the app was designed differently from traditional social networks and that it has introduced safeguards and safety tools.

“Snapchat was built differently from traditional social media: it opens to a camera, not a feed”

The spokesperson said the allegations misrepresent the plaintiffs' experiences on the platform. Snap has also settled a long-running lawsuit over its speed filter, which was alleged to have played a role in several high-speed car crashes involving teens.

Earlier verdict and settlements

In March a Los Angeles jury ruled against Meta and YouTube in the first such bellwether trial and ordered them to pay six million dollars to a 20-year-old woman. She had argued that Instagram and YouTube made her dependent as a minor and caused serious psychological harm. In the week before the K.D.B. settlement, Meta also settled with a 16-year-old plaintiff. In August, Meta agreed to a settlement of more than 18 billion dollars with nearly all US states, which includes new limits for teens on Instagram and Facebook. The company has faced thousands of complaints from families and schools across the United States.

Dates ahead

Jury selection in the case began on Wednesday, 28 October. Opening statements are scheduled for 4 November, once the jury is seated. Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri, who were expected to testify in mid-November, should no longer need to take the stand. Spiegel remains expected to testify unless Snap also reaches a settlement with the plaintiffs. The timeline below sets out the main dates in the litigation.