Meta Platforms has reached a settlement with an 18-year-old woman who accused the company of designing Instagram and Facebook in ways that encouraged addictive behaviour and contributed to her mental health problems and disordered eating, Reuters reported.The agreement means Meta will no longer face claims in the ongoing Los Angeles trial involving two young plaintiffs who alleged that social media platforms were designed to encourage compulsive usage. With the settlement involving the second plaintiff, the proceedings are now expected to continue only against Snap, the parent company of Snapchat.Jury selection for the trial began on Wednesday. The two plaintiffs, identified as S.J. and K.D.B., had initially brought claims against Meta and Snap. Both had already reached settlements with TikTok and YouTube, which were also named in their lawsuits.Emily Jeffcott, an attorney representing K.D.B., said the settlement was a positive resolution for her client. She added that her legal team remained committed to improving child safety on social media platforms and ensuring technology companies were held accountable.Meta, meanwhile, said settlements, dismissals and trials were part of the legal process through which such claims were being examined. A company spokesperson said it would continue defending itself in court and maintained that it had been developing safety features for more than a decade. Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The lawsuit is the second case involving allegations of social media addiction to reach trial in a Los Angeles state court. Young users have accused Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google’s YouTube of designing their platforms to promote excessive engagement through features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling.S.J., a 16-year-old from Illinois, and K.D.B. said their exposure to digital platforms began at a young age. They alleged that they started watching YouTube when they were around three years old and began using other social media platforms at approximately nine.The case was selected from thousands of pending lawsuits to serve as a test of the allegations against social media companies. Its outcome could have implications for how similar disputes are resolved.In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in the first trial of this kind and awarded a young woman $6 million in damages. Subsequent cases involving teenage plaintiffs have also ended through settlements or the withdrawal of claims.The legal pressure on Meta extends beyond individual lawsuits. In August, the company reached settlements valued at up to $18 billion with nearly all US states and territories over allegations concerning the impact of its platforms on children and teenagers. As part of the agreements, Meta also committed to changes in the functioning of Instagram and Facebook for teenage users.
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