An 18-year-old woman from Mississippi identified as K.D.B has settled her social media addiction lawsuit against Meta, her attorney announced Friday, leaving Snap as the only remaining defendant in the case. Jury selection began earlier this week in Los Angeles. K.D.B had previously settled with TikTok and YouTube.
According to Reuters, K.D.B. described staying awake for hours scrolling social media, losing focus in class and engaging in self-harm using methods shown in social media videos. Attorney Emily Jeffcott said in a statement that her team remains committed to improving safety for kids on social media apps and holding tech companies accountable, and that she was pleased the matter reached a just resolution for her client. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, and Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Snap now stands alone as the defendant, and CEO Evan Spiegel is expected to testify in a trial that could last several weeks. If he takes the stand, it would be the first time the Snap founder has appeared in a social media addiction trial. Snap previously settled another high-profile case involving similar claims. In that case a jury later ruled against Meta and YouTube and ordered the two to pay $6 million in damages.
A Snap spokesperson declined to comment on Meta's settlement but said the lawsuit fundamentally misrepresents how Snapchat works. The spokesperson said Snapchat was built differently from traditional social media from the beginning, opening to a camera rather than a feed or a ranking of what other people post or other social comparison metrics. The spokesperson added that Snap has built safeguards into the platform and introduced safety tools and educational resources, and said the company believes the evidence will show it has put its community first and that the allegations misrepresent the plaintiffs' experiences on Snapchat and how the platform was designed.
Meta and Snap have both faced a flood of lawsuits over alleged safety lapses and social media addiction. Snap also recently settled a long-running lawsuit over its speed filter, which is alleged to have played a role in several high-speed car crashes involving teens.
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