Snap settles addiction lawsuit as broader legal battle continues

Snap has reached a settlement in a lawsuit accusing the platform of causing social media addiction. According to the New York Times, the settlement was announced on Tuesday in the California Superior Court in Los Angeles County. The lawsuit was brought against Snap by a 19-year-old plaintiff identified in court documents as K.G.M., who accused the social media application of designing algorithms and features that caused social media addiction and mental health issues. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. In response to the resolution, Snap stated, “The Parties are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner.”

Although this specific case is resolved, Snap remains a defendant in other similar social media addiction cases. Meanwhile, the broader legal battle continues for other major platforms, including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, where no settlements have been reached. The remaining case against Meta, TikTok, and YouTube is set to proceed, with jury selection scheduled to begin next Tuesday, January 27. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to take the witness stand. Legal experts predict that if the plaintiffs prevail, these cases could result in multibillion-dollar settlements and potentially force the platforms to redesign their products.

The litigation has brought internal corporate practices into public view. According to documents unveiled in the ongoing cases, Snap employees raised concerns around risks to the mental health of teens dating back at least nine years. Plaintiffs in these cases are drawing parallels to Big Tobacco—a reference to the 1990s cigarette litigation against companies that concealed health risks—alleging that the platforms obscured information about potential harms from their users. They argue that features like infinite scroll, auto video play, and algorithmic recommendations have tricked users into continuously using the apps, leading to depression, eating disorders, and self-harm.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had been scheduled to testify in the trial, which would have marked the first time a social media company faced a jury in an addiction lawsuit. No platform has lost such a case at trial yet. In their defense, the companies have argued that design choices like algorithmic recommendations, push notifications, and infinite scroll are similar to a newspaper deciding what stories to publish, and are protected speech under the First Amendment, the US constitutional protection for free speech.

Why it matters

The settlement resolves a specific lawsuit against Snap, but the broader legal battle against major platforms continues, with potential multibillion-dollar outcomes and product redesigns at stake.