Snapchat Lawsuits

The social media MDL grew to 3,824 pending actions.

There were 3,208 pending actions in the social media MDL.

The social media MDL grew to 3,137 pending actions.

There were 2,893 pending actions in the social media MDL.

There were 2,527 pending actions in the social media MDL.

The social media MDL grew to 2,465 pending actions.

There were 2,407 pending cases in the social media MDL.

The social media MDL grew to 2,325 pending cases as of February 2.

Snap privately settled the first bellwether case. By settling early, the company avoided the $6 million jury verdict later handed down against Meta and Google on March 25. ,  While this specific settlement removed Snapchat from the first trial, it did not resolve the thousands of claims remaining in the federal MDL.
 

The number of pending actions in the social media MDL increased again, hitting a total of 2,243.

More plaintiffs joined the MDL last month, bringing the total number of pending actions to 2,191.

The Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) reported that 119 plaintiffs joined the MDL. The number of cases in the social media addiction MDL is now 2,172.

New York City filed a lawsuit against Snapchat alleging it and other social media platforms have fueled a mental health crisis among minors.  The city has about 1.8 million people under age 18, making it one of the largest social media lawsuit plaintiffs.

The latest cases filed in the Adolescent Social Media Addiction MDL brings the total to 2,053.

The Adolescent Social Media Addiction MDL now has 1,961 pending actions.

There were 1,922 pending actions in the social media harm MDL.

There were 1,867 pending actions in the social media harm MDL.

Labeling the app a “playground for predators,” the Utah Attorney General’s Office and Department of Commerce filed suit in state court against Snapchat. The state’s allegations are similar to those in the federal MDL, such as exploiting children’s psychological vulnerabilities. State officials also accused Snapchat of violating the Utah Consumer Privacy Act and deceiving users about the app’s safety.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers selected five individual cases and six school district cases to be bellwether trials in the social media mental health MDL. She weighed socioeconomic and demographic factors in selecting the cases.

As of June 2, the social media harm MDL grew to 1,814 pending actions.

The social media harm MDL has increased to 1,787 pending actions.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Snapchat, accusing the company of violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the state’s HB 3 social media law.

A couple from Vermont sued Snapchat, alleging that the app’s features allowed a man in his 20s to contact, groom and eventually drug and sexually abuse their two daughters. The girls were 12 at the time of the assault. Prosecutors agreed to a plea deal with the perpetrator in the criminal case, which resulted in a conviction for aggravated sexual assault against a victim under the age of 13. The perpetrator is currently serving a 10-year sentence in prison.

Nearly 300 people have joined the social media MDL since the beginning of March. The new cases brought the total of pending actions to 1,745.

A U.S. circuit court judge told a NetChoice attorney, “You sound like the tobacco companies” in arguing to block a California law that could protect kids from addictive social media features. NetChoice seeks to block the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (S.B. 976), which went into effect on Jan. 1. This case is not related to the federal MDL.

U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks admitted that unrestricted access to social media can harm young users. But he ultimately sided with NetChoice’s argument that the Arkansas' Social Media Safety Act is too broad. Judge Brooks also said the state doesn’t have the authority to restrict ideas that aren’t obscene or otherwise harmful.

The Corpus Christi Independent School District in Texas joined the social media MDL. The district’s attorney claims that 46 Texas school districts have joined the MDL. The district currently doesn’t allow students from kindergarten through eighth grade to use smartwatches and cellphones during the school day. High school students can use cellphones only during their lunch period and between classes.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter H. Kang ruled that the author of a memoir that criticized Meta Platforms can testify in the MDL. Sarah Wynn-Williams worked at Meta from 2011 to 2017 as the director of public policy. Meta Platforms argued that her information wasn’t relevant to personal injury. They also argued that the plaintiffs took too much time to get her testimony. 
 

Judge Gonzalez Rogers ruled that social media apps and sites are a legal nuisance. She wrote that her ruling would maintain coordination among plaintiffs from different states. She further said that the MDL would “quickly splinter and fragment” if she granted the defendants’ request for interlocutory appeal.

A lawsuit filed by more than 60 families described Snapchat as a “digital open-air drug market” and claimed the app’s features expose children to drug dealers. While the suit is aimed at Snapchat, it could affect the defenses of other platforms that were built on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 protects social media companies from being held liable for user-generated content.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a ruling to allow “non-priority” claims against social media companies to proceed in the MDL. These claims allege general negligence, loss of consortium, survival and wrongful death. The judge dismissed separate claims related to child sex abuse material (CSAM), saying that “plaintiffs do not argue that they allege Meta and Snap enhanced the development or distribution of third-party CSAM.” 
 

The social media MDL grew to 1,464 pending actions.

The Houston Independent School District board voted unanimously to join the multidistrict litigation consisting of mental health lawsuits against Snapchat and other social media companies. The lawsuits allege that social media platforms have reduced students’ attention spans and harmed their mental health. The district seeks compensation for the educational impact.
 

San Diego County filed a lawsuit against Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, alleging that their platforms put a higher premium on making money than on users’ health. County officials hoped to pressure social media companies to address dangerous features of their platforms. The county also hoped to force social media companies to fund more mental health resources. 
 

These cases are about problematic use of Snapchat and other social media platforms and the impact each platform has on the mental health of children and adolescents.

Del Norte County joined two other California counties in suing social media companies. County counsel Jacqueline Roberts alleged that Snap, TikTok, Meta and Google have reaped financial benefits by deliberately designing platforms that cater to the OCD tendencies of minors. The county has retained outside counsel to help with the lawsuit. 
 

The largest school district in Wisconsin joined a lawsuit against social media companies. Milwaukee Public Schools allege that Snapchat, Meta Platforms, YouTube and TikTok have all contributed to a youth mental health crisis that impacts their students. 
 

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl ruled that Meta, YouTube, Snap (Snapchat) and TikTok cannot cut failure-to-warn claims from consolidated litigation in California Superior Court. These lawsuits can move forward in the consolidated California docket, which is separate from the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) overseen by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against several social media companies, including Snap. The tribe claims that social media companies contribute to mental health crises among its youth. The lawsuit’s allegations fall under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

The number of plaintiffs in MDL No. 3047 increased to 815.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled against claims that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is personally liable in lawsuits alleging that social media companies deliberately made children and adolescents addicted to social media. The judge didn’t find enough evidence to establish Zuckerberg’s personal liability.

The social media multidistrict litigation (MDL) grew to 620 pending actions, including the Snapchat lawsuits. This is up from 455 pending actions in May 2024.

District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that many school district lawsuits against Meta (Instagram and Facebook), ByteDance (TikTok), Alphabet (YouTube) and Snap (Snapchat) can move forward. Her ruling included some limitations, but may still encourage more individual plaintiffs to file mental health lawsuits and school districts to file claims against these tech companies.

Raul Torrez, the Attorney General for New Mexico, filed suit against Snapchat. He alleged that the platform’s features and policies don’t adequately protect children from sexual exploitation.

As of August 2024, 557 actions were pending in the social media harm MDL, which includes cases against Snapchat. New cases are filed each week.

The U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. If it passes the U. S. House of Representatives, both bills will require social media platforms to take reasonable measures to provide more parental control over their children’s social media use and prevent social media-related harm to teens and children.

Snapchat provided free access for all users to My AI, which some teen users use for mental health advice. Some experts question whether interacting with a chatbot in this situation can make teens feel even more disconnected.

Plaintiffs filed a master complaint in the Northern District of California. It names social media companies such as Meta, Snap, ByteDance and Google as defendants.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved a leadership team for MDL No. 3047, the consolidated cases against social media companies for creating defective products that cause harm to users. The team includes Motley Rice attorney Previn Warren as co-lead counsel.

Lawsuits against TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social media platforms are consolidated into an MDL docket.

Forty-four state attorneys general wrote to social media legal counsel to express concern about the lack of parental controls on popular platforms.

More than 100,000 parents signed a Parents United petition to encourage Snapchat to begin scanning content for child pornography.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators sent a letter asking about online sexual grooming for children who use social media apps.