Meta settles with teen during trial testing claims social media caused depression, eating disorders

Meta Platforms has settled with an 18-year-old plaintiff, identified as K.D.B., who accused the company of designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive. According to Investing.com, the lawsuit alleged that the platforms caused mental health problems and disordered eating. This settlement follows a previous agreement between Meta and another teen, S.J., which occurred days before jury selection began for a trial in Los Angeles state court.

The legal proceedings were intended to serve as a test case to determine if social media companies designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use, potentially influencing the resolution of thousands of similar pending lawsuits. While Meta has settled with both S.J. and K.D.B., the trial is expected to proceed against Snap Inc. Both plaintiffs had previously reached settlements with TikTok and YouTube.

Social media companies are currently facing thousands of lawsuits alleging they knowingly sought to addict children to their platforms, contributing to a youth mental health crisis, according to CNBC.

Brief written by urgent.news from CNBC, Investing.com — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.