Meta settles with teen during trial over claims social media caused depression, eating disorders
META•Meta settled with an 18-year-old who accused its platforms of contributing to her mental health problems and disordered eating. The settlement means a trial selected to test claims against Meta and Snap is expected to proceed against Snap only.
1. Settlement before trial
Meta Platforms settled with K.D.B., an 18-year-old plaintiff who accused the company of designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive, causing mental health problems and disordered eating. The settlement came after jury selection began; Meta had previously settled with the other teen plaintiff, S.J.
2. Snap trial expected
The case was selected from thousands of pending lawsuits as a test case, and the jury’s verdict could influence how companies and plaintiffs resolve similar claims. K.D.B. and S.J. had also settled with TikTok and YouTube. The companies have rejected claims that their platforms were designed to addict young people.
3. Wider legal cases
In a separate Los Angeles trial that ended in March, a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent and awarded a young woman $6 million in damages. In August, Meta reached settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every state and US territory over claims of harm to teens; earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty in a case concerning user privacy and hate speech, which the company said it would appeal.
