Snap settles social media mental health suit before trial
The settlement leaves Meta, Google and TikTok with the same two plaintiffs' claims already resolved, and the next trials are set for March 2027.
Snap Inc. settled a mental health lawsuit on Monday, one day before trial, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
The settlement covers two plaintiffs, identified in court as S.J. and K.D.B., and its terms were kept confidential.
Snapchat was the last defendant still facing the case, with jury selection already under way and the trial set to open Wednesday, the Courthouse News Service reported.
The two plaintiffs, one a minor and the other an 18-year-old woman, are part of a group of more than 2,000 people who claim Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat fueled addiction, depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia.
Meta, Google and TikTok had already settled with the same two plaintiffs before Snap reached its agreement.
Plaintiffs' attorney Mark Lanier said in a written statement that families should not have to pursue these cases one jury at a time.
Lanier added that teenagers need lasting design changes that protect children, and said his team would keep bringing cases until those changes arrive.
Snap said it was glad the matter had been resolved in an amicable way.
The company added that Snapchat was built to encourage conversations among friends, and said it had introduced safeguards, safety tutorials and partnerships with experts.
Snap also said it remained committed to the safety, privacy and well-being of its users.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had been scheduled to testify at the trial.
Earlier this year, a jury awarded plaintiff Kaley G.M. $6 million in damages against Meta and Google, and both companies have appealed the verdict.
Another bellwether plaintiff, R.K.C., settled with Google, TikTok and Snap, then dropped claims against Meta days before trial.
The next trials in the consolidated litigation are scheduled to begin in March 2027.
The plaintiffs challenge the platforms' liability protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, arguing that features such as likes, autoplay and infinite scrolling encourage compulsive use among teenagers.
They have also targeted beauty filters on Instagram and Snapchat, which they say can contribute to or worsen body dysmorphia.
Separately, the parents of more than 75 teenagers who died from fentanyl overdoses have sued Snap, alleging their children bought drugs from dealers they met on Snapchat.