Report from The Hill
In Brief – Snapchat has settled claims from two teen plaintiffs alleging that the platform was intentionally designed to be addictive to young users, ending a high-profile Los Angeles trial two days before opening arguments. The plaintiffs, from Illinois and Mississippi, alleged that childhood use of Instagram and Snapchat contributed to serious mental health problems, including depression, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. Their attorneys also argued that Snapchat features such as Snapstreaks, Snap Scores, filters and push notifications encouraged compulsive use. The trial had begun with jury selection. Snapchat’s settlement follows similar agreements made by Meta days before, allowing both companies to avoid trial. TikTok and YouTube had settled with the plaintiffs weeks earlier. Terms were confidential. The next group of bellwether cases is scheduled for trial in March 2027.
Context – In the US, regulating social media faces legal problems from federal law Sec. 230 and the First Amendment. They have pushed social media critics to pursue civil litigation alleging that the platforms were designed to addict young users and lead to mental health harm. Thousands of private plaintiffs, including individuals and school districts, as well as nearly every state attorney general, have filed suits. More than 3,000 of the individual lawsuits have been consolidated in the California courtroom of Judge Carolyn Kuhl, and in March, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable and awarded the plaintiff $6 million in the first bellwether trial. Snap and TikTok had settled before that trial, and now the second and third trials have settled as well, and the first school district trial. The biggest happening was Meta settling a set of 48 State AG lawsuits, agreeing to pay more than $12 billion to the states and make numerous changes to their platforms, and promising $5 billion more if the states push TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same set of changes. Lawsuits appear on the path to pushing social media to change their services with fewer First Amendment headaches than legislation. Game platforms and AI chatbots are likely next litigation targets.