Snap settles lawsuit accusing platform of fueling teen depression and eating disorders

Snap has reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by two teenagers who accused the company of designing its platform to be addictive and contributing to their depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, as first reported by Reuters. The plaintiffs had previously reached settlements with Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.

The trial was set to be Snap’s first in a broader wave of litigation over social media’s impact on young users. The company had already settled its other cases scheduled for trial. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel was expected to take the stand.

The plaintiffs said they started using YouTube as young at age 3 and other social media platforms at around age 9. They said they developed compulsive usage habits, which they attributed to features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling.

“The Parties are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner,” a Snap spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. “We’ve built safeguards, launched safety tutorials, and partnered with experts and because safety is never finished, we remain committed to continually strengthening the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community.”

Social media giants are facing thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts over claims that they knowingly designed their platforms to hook young users and fuel a youth mental health crisis involving anxiety, depression, and suicide.