What is happening in court
Jury selection opened in a Los Angeles courtroom in a lawsuit against Meta and Snap, CBS News reported. Two plaintiffs say the companies' platforms were engineered in a way that hooked young users. The case is the latest in a growing series of legal challenges over social media and the mental health of young people.
Opening statements are scheduled for early November, with Judge Carolyn Kuhl presiding. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say the trial will probably last until mid-December. Meta and Snap asked earlier this week to have the claims heard in two separate trials. According to a person familiar with the matter, Kuhl has not yet ruled on that request.
Who the plaintiffs are and what they claim
The plaintiffs filed suit in 2023. One is a 16-year-old from Illinois, identified in court papers as S.J. She began using Snapchat as a small child. She says the app's design pulled her into compulsive use and fed a range of difficulties, among them an eating disorder and self-harm.
The other plaintiff, K.D.B., is 18 and lives in Mississippi. She says that regular use of Meta's platforms and Snapchat starting in her early years played a part in her own mental health struggles and self-harm.
The complaint, filed in a Los Angeles trial court, points to features such as endless scrolling and Snapchat's Snapstreaks. Their lawyers wrote that the companies "defectively designed the platforms to specifically appeal to and addict minors and young adults." The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, with no amount specified.
How the companies are responding
TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube were originally named in the suit but settled before the trial. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has also settled with S.J. It is still contesting K.D.B.'s claims.
A Meta spokesperson said in an email that a young person's mental health has many influences, and that the trial evidence would show this. The spokesperson said the plaintiff used TikTok far more than Instagram or Facebook and that her personal circumstances were a substantial factor in her difficulties.
A Snap spokesperson also disputed the allegations. In a statement, the company said it has built safeguards, safety tools and educational resources, and that the claims misrepresent the plaintiffs' experiences and how Snapchat was designed. The companies are generally expected to argue that factors other than their products caused the plaintiffs' problems.
Why this trial draws attention
The case was chosen as one of several bellwethers among a large group of similar claims against social media companies. Such trials can show how juries respond to arguments that might shape later cases. Instagram head Adam Mosseri, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel are all expected to testify.
Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said in an email that this will be the first case against Snapchat and the first time the public can see some of the company's documents.
Earlier this year, in a separate landmark case, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable for creating products that led to harmful and addictive behavior among young users. They were ordered to pay $6 million. Public concern about young people's screen habits is also high. A 2024 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 found that nearly half say they are online almost constantly.
