Snap Says It’s Wrongly Dragged Into Social Media Addiction Suits

Snap Inc. says it can’t be sued for allegedly addicting young users and contributing to a mental-health crisis because its “ephemeral” messaging service is “fundamentally different” from other platforms including TikTok and Instagram that are at the center of a surge in lawsuits over social media addiction.

“Unlike these other platforms, Snapchat is primarily used for direct communication between people who already know each other in real life,” Snap’s attorneys said in a filing seeking dismissal of the cases against the company.

Platform owners Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd., Google and Snap are fighting almost 200 lawsuits filed ...