Snap Settles Teen Mental Health Lawsuit Before US Trial
The parent company of Snapchat was the final remaining defendant in the closely watched case, which had already entered jury selection. The trial had been scheduled to begin Wednesday, according to reports.
The plaintiffs, identified in court documents as S.J., a female minor, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old woman, are among more than 2,000 people pursuing claims against social media companies. They allege that platforms including Instagram, YouTube and TikTok encouraged excessive phone use and contributed to conditions such as depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia.
"Families shouldn't have to go jury by jury to solve a problem this big," plaintiffs' attorney Mark Lanier said 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."
Snap said the two sides were "pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner."
The company said Snapchat was developed to promote communication among friends and highlighted measures it had introduced to improve user protection, including safety tutorials, additional safeguards and cooperation with experts. It added that it would continue working to strengthen the platform's safety, privacy and user well-being.
Meta, Google and TikTok, the other companies named in the case, had previously reached confidential settlements with the same plaintiffs.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to appear as witnesses during the trial.
The settlement follows an earlier bellwether case that concluded with a jury awarding plaintiff Kaley G.M. $6 million in damages over claims against Meta and Google. She had already resolved her claims against Snap and TikTok before the verdict. Meta and Google have challenged the jury's decision through an appeal.
In another case selected to help test the broader litigation, a plaintiff identified as R.K.C. reached settlements with Google, TikTok and Snap before withdrawing the remaining claims against Meta shortly before trial.
The next trials in the consolidated proceedings are expected to begin in March 2027.
At the center of the lawsuits is the question of whether social media companies can be held legally responsible for features and design choices on their platforms despite protections provided under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The law generally shields online services from liability for content posted by third parties.
The plaintiffs argue that these protections do not exempt companies from responsibility for how their platforms are designed. They have pointed to features such as likes, autoplay and infinite scrolling, claiming that these mechanisms encourage compulsive behavior among younger users.
The lawsuits also challenge beauty filters available on Instagram and Snapchat, alleging that they can contribute to or intensify body dysmorphia among teenagers.
Separately, Snap is facing another legal challenge from parents of more than 75 teenagers who died following fentanyl overdoses. The families allege that their children obtained drugs through dealers they encountered on Snapchat, describing the platform as an "open-air drug market."
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