Why is Snap expected to be the only company on trial in the case involving K.D.B. and S.J.?

Meta settled with both teens before the trial proceeded, including its settlement with K.D.B. after jury selection began. The teens had previously settled their claims against TikTok and YouTube, leaving Snap as the only defendant expected to face trial.

How could the K.D.B. and S.J. test case affect other social media addiction lawsuits?

The case was selected from thousands of pending lawsuits as a test case, so a jury verdict could influence how companies and plaintiffs resolve similar claims. The lawsuits include claims by individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities alleging that platforms contributed to a youth mental health crisis.

Meta settles with teen in social media depression trial

Q: What features did K.D.B. and S.J. say contributed to their compulsive social media use?

They said they began using YouTube as young children and other platforms around age 9, and developed compulsive habits they attributed to features such as autoplay and infinite scroll. The companies rejected the claim that their platforms were designed to addict young people and said they had taken steps to make the apps safe.

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Summary

Meta settled with K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, after jury selection began on Wednesday for a Los Angeles trial over claims that social media platforms harmed young users. The settlement leaves Snap as the only defendant expected to face trial in the case. K.D.B. and S.J. had also settled with TikTok and YouTube, and the test case could influence how similar lawsuits are resolved. Meta and other companies deny that their platforms were designed to addict young people.

Key Facts

K.D.B. said she began using YouTube at age 3 and other platforms around age 9, and blamed features including autoplay and infinite scroll for compulsive habits.
The case was selected from thousands of pending lawsuits involving individuals, school districts, municipalities and government entities.
In the first case to go to trial, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in March and awarded a young woman $6 million in damages.
In August, Meta reached settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every U.S. state and territory over claims concerning harm to teens, agreeing to changes to Instagram and Facebook.
Earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty after a jury found it misled Facebook users about data privacy and its handling of hate speech; Meta said it would appeal.

By Reuters

Published Oct 31, 2026 2:20 am KST

The logo of Meta is seen at the entrance of the company's temporary stand ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Jan.18, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap

Meta Platforms has settled with a teen plaintiff who accused the company of designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive, causing her mental health problems and disordered eating, attorneys for the plaintiff said on Friday.

The settlement came after jury selection began on Wednesday for a trial that was slated to test the claims of two teens, identified as S.J. and K.D.B., against Meta and Snapchat parent Snap Inc. Meta had settled with S.J. days before the trial, so Friday's settlement with K.D.B. means the trial is expected to proceed against Snap only.

“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, an attorney for K.D.B., said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Meta said settlements, dismissals and trials are part of the process of testing cases like this.

"We will continue to defend ourselves in court, and we stand by our record," the spokesperson said, noting that Meta has been building safety tools for more than a decade.

A spokesperson for Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The trial is the second in Los Angeles state court over claims brought by young people who say they became addicted to social media after Meta, Snap, TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use.

S.J. and K.D.B. had previously settled with TikTok and YouTube.

The case was selected among the thousands of pending lawsuits as a test case, so the jury's verdict could influence how the companies and plaintiffs resolve similar cases.

S.J., a 16-year-old girl from Illinois, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, say they began using YouTube as early as age 3 and the other platforms around age 9, developing compulsive habits they blame on features such as autoplay and infinite scroll.

The companies have rejected claims their platforms were designed to addict young people, and say they have taken action to make the apps safe places for young people to express themselves.

Social media companies face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts by individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities alleging the companies knowingly sought to addict children to their platforms, contributing to a youth mental health crisis involving anxiety, depression and suicide.

In the first case to go to trial, which ended in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube had been negligent and awarded a young woman $6 million in damages.

The next two teens whose cases were selected for trials either settled or dropped their claims against the companies.

The first school district chosen for trial settled with all of the companies.

In August, Meta struck settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every state and US territory to resolve lawsuits brought by attorneys general over the platforms’ harm to teens and agreed to make changes to how Instagram and Facebook work for teens.

Earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty after a jury found the company misled Facebook users about the privacy of their data and how it handles hate speech. The company has said it will appeal.

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