Snap has settled a lawsuit accusing the platform of causing social media addiction, just days before the trial was due to begin.
The case, brought by a 19-year-old referred to in court documents as K.G.M., claimed that Snap’s features and algorithms encouraged addictive behaviour and contributed to mental health issues. The terms of the settlement were not made public.
The lawsuit also includes other major platforms, such as Meta, YouTube and TikTok, although no settlements have been reached with these companies. Snap continues to face similar social media addiction cases elsewhere.
Court documents reveal that Snap employees raised concerns about the potential mental health risks to teenagers as far back as nine years ago. The company has stated that these examples were “cherry-picked” and taken out of context.
Snapchat have refused to comment
Plaintiffs have compared these cases to the Big Tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s, which targeted cigarette companies for hiding health risks. They argue that features like infinite scroll, auto-play videos and algorithmic recommendations keep users engaged for long periods, leading to issues such as depression, eating disorders and self-harm.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had been scheduled to give evidence at the trial, which would have been the first time a social media company faced a jury over addiction claims. No platform has yet lost such a case at trial.
The remaining lawsuit against Meta, TikTok and YouTube is still set to proceed, with jury selection starting on Monday 27 January and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to appear in court.
If plaintiffs succeed, experts predict the cases could result in multibillion-pound settlements and may force social media platforms to redesign some of their products. The companies have argued that features like algorithmic recommendations, push notifications and infinite scroll are similar to a newspaper choosing which stories to publish, and are protected under the First Amendment.
