Snap Settles Teen Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Before Trial

What changed

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, reached a settlement Monday in a social media addiction lawsuit, resolving claims before the case was set to go to trial this month, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs. The teenage plaintiffs, identified in court documents as S.J. and K.D.B., had alleged that Snapchat was designed to be addictive and that using the platform from a young age contributed to their mental health issues.

Terms of the Snap settlement were undisclosed, according to Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Emily Jeffcott, trial counsel for K.D.B. Snap was the last social media company named in the lawsuit to settle the case, which was set for opening arguments this week.

Who it affects

Meta resolved claims last week, while Alphabet and TikTok, the other defendants, each also resolved the allegations. The suit was one of several bellwether cases brought by plaintiffs who have alleged that social media platforms harmed their mental health and were designed to keep young users hooked.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, a jury found Meta and Google-owned YouTube liable and awarded $6 million to the lead plaintiff. Meta also agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and add child-safety measures to its social media platforms as part of an August settlement with dozens of U.S. states.

What is actually available

The settlement amount and any non-monetary terms for Snap were not disclosed. In a statement to CBS News, Snap said that the parties were pleased to have been able to resolve the matter in an amicable manner. Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement to CBS News that he believed the jury would have found the companies' conduct reprehensible.