Meta Settles With Second Plaintiff in Los Angeles Social Media Addiction Trial, Leaving Snap as Sole Defendant

Since a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in March and awarded a young woman $6 million, the next bellwether cases have mostly ended before a verdict. Friday's settlement with K.D.B. extends that pattern for Meta.

K.D.B. is an 18-year-old from Mississippi. Her attorneys said Friday, Oct. 30, that Meta had settled her claims that Instagram and Facebook were designed to be addictive and worsened her mental health. Terms were not disclosed.

Jury selection began Wednesday in Los Angeles. Meta had already settled with the co-plaintiff, S.J., a 16-year-old from Illinois, days before the trial. Both plaintiffs had also settled before trial with TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube.

What is left of the case

Snap Inc., the parent of Snapchat, is now the only defendant. A spokesperson for the Lanier Law Firm, which represents the plaintiffs, said they will proceed with their complaint against Snap.

The plaintiffs allege Snap designed Snapchat to maximize the time young users spend on the app, using features such as Snapstreaks, Snapscores, push notifications and filters. They say compulsive use caused depression, anxiety, an eating disorder and self-harm. They also say they began using YouTube as early as age 3 and the other platforms around age 9.

Snap disputes the allegations. Ahead of the trial, a Snapchat spokesperson said the company was "built differently" from traditional social media, that Snapchat "opens to a camera, not a feed, not a ranking of what other people post or other social comparison metrics," and that the claims "fundamentally misrepresent the plaintiffs' experiences." Snap did not comment on Friday's settlement.

Jury selection is expected to continue Monday and Tuesday, followed by opening statements. Plaintiffs' lawyers have said they expect the trial to last into mid-December. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is expected to testify, which would be his first trial testimony.

Zuckerberg stays off the stand

The settlement means Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri will not have to testify in this trial. They were expected to take the stand, as they did in previous trials over similar claims.

A Meta spokesperson said "trials, dismissals and settlements are all common in the bellwether process, and this litigation is no exception." The spokesperson added: "We will continue to defend ourselves in court, and we stand by our record." She pointed to the company's agreement with 52 bipartisan attorneys general, which she said includes "strict time limits, no access at night, and no notifications during school hours."

Emily Jeffcott, K.D.B.'s trial counsel, said her team remains "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."

The companies have rejected claims that their platforms were designed to addict young people. They say they have taken action to make the apps safe places for young people to express themselves.

Meta's wider legal exposure

This case was selected from thousands of pending lawsuits as a test case, so the jury's verdict could influence how the companies and plaintiffs resolve similar cases. Social media companies face those suits from individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities in federal and state courts.

Meta's recent record is mixed. Beyond the $6 million March verdict, the next two teens chosen for trial either settled or dropped their claims. The first school district chosen for trial settled with all of the companies.

In August, Meta struck settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every state and U.S. territory over the harm to teens, as Reuters reported. CBS put the figure at up to $17.1 billion. Meta also agreed to change how Instagram and Facebook work for teens.

Separately, earlier this month a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty after a jury found the company misled Facebook users about the privacy of their data and how it handles hate speech. Meta has said it will appeal.

What happens next

The next concrete test is in Los Angeles, where the trial proceeds against Snap alone. If it reaches a verdict, it will be the first jury decision in this litigation since the March ruling against Meta and YouTube. Whether Snap, like the others, settles first remains unknown.