Teen Drops Lawsuit Against Meta, Google, Snap Ahead of Trial

A 15-year-old girl from New Jersey dropped her lawsuit against Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google, and Snap Inc. (Snapchat) ahead of a trial scheduled for October. The case was one of three 'bellwether' or test cases selected to gauge how juries might view similar claims.

The plaintiff had alleged that the social media platforms contributed to her addiction, depression, and self-harm. However, she dropped her claims without receiving any payment from the companies. TikTok, which was also a defendant in the case, had previously settled with the plaintiff.

Meta is currently defending itself against lawsuits from states claiming that its platforms are designed to be addictive to children and misled the public about their safety. The company has denied these allegations and stated that it takes extensive steps to keep teens and young users safe on its platforms.