Meta, Snap Set for Los Angeles Trials Over Teen Social Media Claims

Two Los Angeles County cases over alleged mental health harms to young social media users were scheduled to begin jury selection Wednesday, Oct. 28, in test trials that may influence how thousands of related claims are resolved.

Plaintiffs S.J. and K.D.B. allege that features including autoplay and infinite scrolling encouraged compulsive use and harmed young users’ mental health. They seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The claims are allegations; no jury has decided the issues in these cases.

Both plaintiffs’ claims against Snap remain in the cases. K.D.B.’s claims against Meta also remain, while S.J. settled with Meta. Both plaintiffs also resolved their claims against TikTok and YouTube ahead of trial.

The cases are bellwethers selected from a larger group of claims. More than 3,000 lawsuits have been consolidated in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the results of the test cases may affect how other claims are resolved. Opening statements were scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4, if no further settlements occur.

A separate Los Angeles bellwether case ended with a $6 million jury award against Meta and YouTube on March 25. The jury assigned 70% of the damages to Meta and 30% to YouTube. Meta has appealed that verdict.

A Meta spokesperson said, “A young person’s mental health is shaped by many factors, as the evidence in this trial will show.” A Snap spokesperson said the company believes evidence will support that it put its community first and that the allegations “fundamentally misrepresent” users’ experiences and how Snapchat was designed.