Meta, Snap Face Major US Trial Over Youth Social Media Addiction Claims
What Happened
Meta and Snap are heading to trial in Los Angeles over claims that their social-media platforms were deliberately designed to encourage compulsive use and contributed to mental-health problems among young users. Jury selection begins on October 28. TikTok and YouTube, which were initially defendants, settled with the plaintiffs before trial. Meta also settled with one plaintiff, leaving claims against Snap from both plaintiffs and against Meta from the other plaintiff. Both companies dispute the allegations.
Key Takeaways
The case is only the second individual-plaintiff trial testing claims that social-media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive, potentially making its outcome important for thousands of similar US lawsuits.