Snap reaches settlement in social media addiction lawsuit

Just days before a trial was scheduled to begin, social media company Snap has settled a lawsuit alleging that its platform contributes to social media addiction, according to reports from several media outlets.

The New York Times reported that the settlement was announced on Tuesday in the California Superior Court in Los Angeles County. The case was filed by a 19-year-old identified in court records as K.G.M., who accused the company of intentionally designing its app’s algorithms and features in ways that foster addiction and harm users’ mental health.

Details of the settlement were not made public.

The lawsuit also names other major platforms, including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok. Those companies have not reached settlements, and Snap remains a defendant in additional, similar lawsuits related to social media addiction.

Court filings revealed in the ongoing litigation show that Snap employees had raised internal concerns about the potential mental health risks faced by teenage users as far back as nine years ago. Snap has responded by saying those internal communications were selectively presented and taken out of context.

Plaintiffs in these cases have compared their claims to the wave of Big Tobacco lawsuits in the 1990s, which accused cigarette makers of concealing known health dangers. They argue that social media companies have similarly downplayed or obscured the risks tied to their products. According to the New York Times, features such as infinite scrolling, automatic video playback, and algorithm-driven recommendations are alleged to keep users engaged for prolonged periods, contributing to issues including depression, eating disorders, and self-harm.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had been scheduled to testify in the trial, which would have been the first instance of a social media company facing a jury over claims tied to addiction. To date, no platform has lost an addiction-related case at trial. Meanwhile, the remaining lawsuit against Meta, TikTok, and YouTube is expected to move forward, with jury selection set to begin following Monday, January 27. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify in that case.

Legal experts say that if plaintiffs succeed, the lawsuits could lead to multibillion-dollar settlements and require significant changes to how social media products are designed. The companies involved have defended themselves by arguing that features like algorithmic recommendations, push notifications, and infinite scrolling are comparable to editorial decisions made by traditional media outlets and are protected under the First Amendment.