Meta settles with young woman on eve of trial over social media addiction
Los Angeles lawsuit accused Instagram and Facebook of encouraging compulsive use; trial continues only against Snap, owner of Snapchat.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
Meta, owner of Instagram and Facebook, reached a settlement with a young woman who accused it of creating platforms designed to cause addiction and harm mental health. According to g1, citing Reuters, the agreement was reached on Friday (30), and the amounts and terms were not disclosed.
The suit also argued that use of the networks contributed to eating disorders. The settlement came after jury selection began on Wednesday (28) for a trial that would examine the allegations of two young women, identified as S.J. and K.D.B., against Meta and Snap. Meta had already settled with S.J. days earlier, and the trial is now expected to continue only against Snap.
According to g1, the two plaintiffs had already reached settlements with TikTok and YouTube. They say they began using YouTube at age 3 and the other platforms at around 9, and point to features such as autoplay and infinite scroll as drivers of compulsive habits. The companies deny having designed their products to be addictive.
The case is the second trial in Los Angeles state court on the subject and was chosen from among thousands of similar lawsuits as a bellwether case. A jury decision could therefore influence how other disputes are resolved.
In a statement, K.D.B.'s attorney, Emily Jeffcott, said she was satisfied with the resolution reached for her client.