Meta and Snap Trial Opens With Jury Selection Amid More Than 3,000 Lawsuits

Key Facts

Jury selection began Wednesday in Los Angeles for a joint trial involving Meta and Snap, in a case testing allegations that social media platform design encouraged addictive use and harmed young people’s mental health. The trial is expected to last several weeks, according to Reuters, and is one of a series of bellwether cases whose outcomes could affect the resolution of other claims. The plaintiffs say platform features, including autoplay and infinite scrolling, contributed to compulsive use and psychological harm. They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, without a publicly specified amount. The case includes claims against Snap by both plaintiffs and a claim against Meta by the plaintiff from Mississippi.

The plaintiffs are S.J., 16, from Illinois, and K.D.B., 18, from Mississippi. They say they began using YouTube at age 3 or 4 and started using other platforms at around age 9. They attribute compulsive use, depression, anxiety and eating disorders to platform features, claiming these harms affected them personally. Both had settled their claims against TikTok and YouTube before trial. S.J. also settled her claim against Meta, so her claim against the company is not part of the trial. The claims now before the court are therefore against Snap by both plaintiffs and against Meta by K.D.B. alone.

Meta and Snap asked for separate trials, but the judge had not ruled on the request when Reuters published its report. A Meta spokesperson rejected the allegations, saying, "A young person's mental health is shaped by many factors, as the evidence in this trial will show." The spokesperson added that the plaintiff used TikTok far more than Instagram or Facebook. This defense puts the relationship between platform features and the harms the plaintiffs say they experienced at the center of the case. The plaintiffs’ lawyer told CBS News that the case would be the first trial against Snap to give the public access to some company documents. The plaintiffs are also seeking punitive and compensatory damages, the amount of which has not been disclosed.

The case is part of more than 3,000 lawsuits filed by individuals and others and consolidated before the Los Angeles Superior Court. In a separate legal track, more than 3,800 similar lawsuits brought by states, school districts and individuals are before a federal court in California. The two figures cover different groups: the first refers to lawsuits consolidated in Los Angeles court, and the second to cases pending before the federal court. The current case was selected as a bellwether, and its outcome could help shape the resolution of the remaining claims. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Meta said the next consolidated trial involving the two users’ cases began on October 28, 2026. Its filings identified two subsequent personal injury trial groups, on March 16 and August 6, 2027.

The trial follows an earlier ruling in Los Angeles, where a jury in March 2026 found Meta and YouTube liable for negligence and awarded damages of $6 million. Meta said in its filing that the verdict was issued on March 25, with 70% of the damages assigned to Meta and 30% to YouTube; it also filed a notice of appeal. In August, Meta reached settlements worth up to $18 billion to resolve claims by most U.S. states and territories over the impact of its platforms on teenagers’ mental health. Under those settlements, the company agreed to changes in teenagers’ access to Instagram and Facebook. These developments show the individual case unfolding alongside broader rulings and settlements, while the current claims remain tied to the companies’ responsibility for their platform design.

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin in early November, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers expect the trial to continue through mid-December. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel are expected to testify. This follows the start of jury selection on October 28, according to Meta’s filing, in a case that brings together the plaintiffs’ specified claims. In the market, Meta shares closed at $611.44 on October 28. Previous closes were $697.52 on October 21, $648.85 on October 22, $642.62 on October 23, then $630.56 on October 26 and $620.19 on October 27. The stock thus recorded consecutive declines across the cited trading sessions through the close on the day the trial began.