Snap Inc. has resolved claims by four plaintiffs across three planned California social-media addiction trials without a jury deciding whether Snapchat’s design harmed young users.
Its latest settlement also eliminates another anticipated courtroom appearance by chief executive Evan Spiegel, who had been expected to testify earlier this year.
Lawyers for two teenagers confirmed the newest agreement on Monday, after jury selection began in Los Angeles on October 28. Reuters reported that Spiegel was expected to testify in the trial, which would have been the first in the coordinated litigation to put Snapchat’s design before a jury.
Sponsored · Selkirk Copper Mines
The agreement covers S.J., a 16-year-old from Illinois, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi. Both allege that social-media platforms encouraged compulsive use and contributed to depression, anxiety, and other health problems.
Their parallel claims against Meta Platforms, TikTok, and Alphabet’s YouTube had already been settled.
Settlement terms were not released.
The November deal extends a sequence documented in Snap’s securities filings and litigation records. Snap settled with plaintiff K.G.M. on January 20 before the first Los Angeles bellwether trial. Spiegel had also been expected to testify then. Snap reached another settlement ahead of a July trial involving plaintiff R.K.C.
Meta and YouTube took a different route in the K.G.M. case. A Los Angeles jury found both companies negligent in March and awarded $6 million, split $4.2 million against Meta and $1.8 million against YouTube. Both companies said they would appeal. Snap had settled its portion before that trial.
Snap has disclosed one substantial settlement outside the individual cases. Reuters reported in May, citing settlement records, that the company agreed to pay $8 million to Kentucky’s Breathitt County School District. That agreement did not require Snap to admit liability or change its platform.
The company’s June-quarter SEC filing identified additional claims from school districts, governments, and individual users, including similar proceedings in Canada. The undisclosed amounts in the individual bellwether agreements make a cumulative settlement figure unavailable.
Snap disputes allegations that it deliberately designed Snapchat to addict children. It says it has introduced safeguards, safety education, and other protections for younger users.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers told Reuters that further bellwether trials are scheduled for March 2027.
