Meta settles, leaving Snap sole defendant in new social media trial

Meta reached a settlement in a landmark case over the alleged harms of social media, the plaintiffs' lawyers said Friday, leaving Snap as the only defendant in a trial set to open in Los Angeles next week. "We remain committed to improving safety for kids on social media apps and holding tech companies accountable, and we are pleased to have brought this matter to a just resolution on behalf of our client," Emily Jeffcott, a lawyer representing one of the young women suing both companies, said in a statement.

Jury selection began on Wednesday, and opening statements are scheduled for November 4. The terms of the agreement are confidential, but sources close to Meta told AFP the company decided to settle for business reasons. "Trials, dismissals and settlements are all common in the bellwether process, and this litigation is no exception," a Meta spokesperson said, referring to the series of test cases against the company being tried in Los Angeles.

If Snap does not settle, the trial will go ahead next week. Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TikTok and YouTube were also named as defendants in the case, but both had already reached settlements with the plaintiffs, known by their initials SJ and KDB, their lawyers said.

Meta had also previously settled with SJ. A California state judge consolidated the two cases into a single trial. Snap, which makes Snapchat, will defend itself against the claims of both SJ and KDB.

Lawyers for SJ and KDB will argue that their clients were exposed to "addictive and problematic" social media apps when they started using them at ages 13 and 15, respectively, according to court documents. "We believe the evidence will support that we have put our community first, and that these allegations fundamentally misrepresent the plaintiffs' experiences on Snapchat and how our platform was designed," a Snap spokesperson said in a statement earlier this week. smb/arp