Meta has settled a social media addiction lawsuit brought by an 18-year-old woman, removing the technology company from a case due to go to trial next month in Los Angeles. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
The plaintiff, identified in court documents as K.D.B., alleged that Meta and Snapchat owner Snap designed their platforms to encourage addictive use and contributed to serious mental and physical health problems.
Snap remains a defendant in the case. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they would continue with their complaint against the company, while jury selection began this week and opening statements are expected in early November.
The plaintiffs allege that Snapchat features including Snapstreaks, Snapscores, push notifications and filters were designed to maximise the time young users spent on the app. They say compulsive use contributed to depression, anxiety, an eating disorder and self-harm.
Snap disputes the allegations and has defended its practices.
K.D.B.’s lawyers said Meta’s settlement followed a separate agreement with another plaintiff, identified as S.J., last week. The two plaintiffs had also sued TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube, which settled separately before trial.
“We remain committed to improving safety for kids on social media apps and holding tech companies accountable, and we are pleased to have brought this matter to a just resolution on behalf of our client,” Emily Jeffcott, trial counsel for K.D.B., said.
A Meta spokesperson said the company would continue to defend itself in similar litigation alleging that its social platforms harm users’ mental health.
“Trials, dismissals and settlements are all common in the bellwether process, and this litigation is no exception,” she said. “We will continue to defend ourselves in court, and we stand by our record.”
The spokesperson added that Meta had spent more than a decade building protections for teenagers and referred to its agreement with 52 bipartisan attorneys general, which includes strict time limits, no access at night and no notifications during school hours.
In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to dozens of states that alleged the company had used Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms to hook young internet users while concealing the risks.
