Snap Settles With Two Plaintiffs in Social Media Addiction Case, Ending Los Angeles Trial

Snap Inc., parent company of Snapchat, has settled claims brought by two plaintiffs identified as S.J. and K.D.B., who say the company designed its platform to be addictive and caused their depression, anxiety and eating disorders, plaintiffs' attorneys said Monday. The settlement ends the second bellwether trial in Los Angeles state court over social media's effects on young people. Jury selection began last week, and one report said the deal came two days before opening arguments. The plaintiffs had earlier settled with Meta, TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had been expected to testify. The case was chosen from thousands of pending lawsuits to test the claims and possibly influence how similar cases are resolved. Attorneys John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, who represented K.D.B., said the settlements help build toward holding social media companies accountable. The next bellwether trials are scheduled for March, the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

The right-leaning New York Post leads with the Snap settlement and frames it as a case against "Big Tech." It stresses the trial's stakes: Spiegel's expected testimony, the bellwether selection from thousands of suits, and the March trials. Its main quote is the Morgan and Jeffcott statement on accountability. The left-leaning CBS News leads with Meta's settlement and describes the 18-year-old K.D.B.'s claims. Its account says the trial was set for next month and that Snap remains a defendant, so the plaintiffs will proceed against it. CBS quotes Jeffcott and Beasley Allen attorney Joseph VanZandt, who cites Snapstreaks, Snapscores, push notifications and filters. The two accounts therefore differ on whether the Snap claims were still pending. Both note that the plaintiffs settled with TikTok and YouTube. Reuters and The Hill largely match the Post's account, and The Hill adds the timing before opening arguments.