Snap Inc., the Santa Monica-based parent company of Snapchat, is close to settling a lawsuit accusing Snapchat of using addictive features that harmed a teenage user, leaving Meta as the only remaining defendant set to face a jury trial next week.

R.K.C., identified in court filings only by his initials, is a Florida teen who alleges the platforms used addictive features such as infinite scroll and autoplay, contributing to anxiety, sleep deprivation, depression, and suicidal ideation.

The case is the second California state-court proceeding testing claims that major social media platforms were designed to hook young users.

In the first California trial in February, a jury found Meta and Google negligent and awarded a 20-year-old plaintiff US$6 million in damages. A judge later rejected the companies’ bid to set aside the verdict.

Separate from the state cases, 2,600 cases are pending in California federal court, and 3,300 more are pending in California state court. The first federal bellwether ended in a combined US$27 million settlement before trial.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg