Meta settles 18-year-old’s lawsuit over the impact of Instagram and Facebook

Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has settled out of court a lawsuit filed by an 18-year-old. She alleged that the platforms were designed to encourage addiction and that using them had caused her mental health problems and eating disorders.

The settlement with the plaintiff, identified by the initials KDB, has not been made public. This is the second case Meta has settled within a week, following the resolution of a case involving 16-year-old SJ.

After Meta withdrew from the proceedings, the trial set to begin soon in Los Angeles will proceed only against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat.

Emily Jeffcott, the 18-year-old’s lawyer, said her team would continue its efforts to protect children on social media and hold the technology industry accountable for its impact on young people.

According to the lawsuit, SJ, from Illinois, and KDB, from Mississippi, began using YouTube when they were 3, and joined other social media platforms at around age 9. They argue that features such as autoplay and endless scrolling encouraged compulsive use and addiction to the apps.

The companies named in the lawsuit have disputed the allegations. They say their services are not designed to cause addiction among young people and that they have taken steps to provide a safer experience for underage users.

The lawsuit is part of several cases brought in the United States against technology giants. In a case tried in March, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable for negligence and awarded $6 million in damages to a young woman.

TikTok and YouTube had previously reached settlements with the two teenagers in the Los Angeles case. A school district that had also sued social media companies chose to settle out of court before the hearings.

In August, Meta reached an $18 billion settlement with nearly all U.S. states and territories, ending lawsuits related to the harm its platforms cause young people. The company also pledged to change some features of Instagram and Facebook for teenage users.

Earlier this month, a judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion fine. The case concerned allegations that the company had misled users about how it handled hate speech and personal data on Facebook.