Snap Inc. has reached an agreement to settle a key plaintiff’s claims that the platform’s design led her to become addicted and caused her mental health problems.
The announcement of a “basic settlement agreement” by Mark Lanier of the Lanier Law Firm, representing the plaintiff, and Faye Paul Teller of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, representing Snap, came during a final status conference Tuesday in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County before Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl.
The attorneys didn’t provide information in open court about the dollar value or other terms of the settlement but said paperwork should be filed with the court by the end of the week.
Jury selection for the trial featuring the 19-year-old California woman, identified by the initials K.G.M., is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles Jan. 27, and opening arguments are expected to begin the following week. No settlement agreement was announced for K.G.M.'s claims against Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok, and Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will likely be among the first witnesses to testify.
K.G.M.'s will be the first of thousands of cases filed by young users against social media giants to reach a trial, alleging platform features such as algorithms, infinite scroll, and personalized notifications led to their excessive screen time and depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, and even deaths by suicide. Her trial is expected to last through late March.
The social media companies’ attorneys argue plaintiffs’ attorneys haven’t shown enough evidence that the design of the platforms harmed users.
As the first so-called bellwether trial, K.G.M.'s case presents an opportunity for attorneys to test the strength of their arguments; the outcomes of these early trials can lead to settlement talks. Another group of lawsuits is pending in Northern California federal court.
If the tech companies lose, they could face billions of dollars in damages and be required to change how young people use their platforms.
The case is Social Media Cases JCCP, Cal. Super. Ct., No. 5255, status conference held 1/20/26.
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