Jury selection begins in Meta and Snap trial over social media addiction claims

Updated on: October 28, 2026 / 1:37 PM EDT / CBS News

Jury selection begins today in Los Angeles for a trial against Meta and Snap brought by two plaintiffs who claim the companies' platforms were designed to be addictive — the latest in a wave of cases focusing on social media's impact on young people's mental health.

The plaintiffs sued in 2023, alleging that endless scrolling, Snapstreaks and other features on social media platforms kept them hooked and harmed their mental health.

The first, a 16-year-old from Illinois identified in court documents as S.J., started using Snapchat as a young child and alleges the app's features led to compulsive use and contributed to depression, reduced sleep, anxiety, an eating disorder, suicidal ideation and self-harm. The other plaintiff, K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, said her use of Meta's platforms and Snapchat from a young age also contributed to mental health issues and self-harm.

"Defendants defectively designed the platforms to specifically appeal to and addict minors and young adults, who were particularly unable to appreciate the risks posed by the platforms, and particularly susceptible to harms from those products," the plaintiffs' lawyers argued in the complaint, filed in a Los Angeles…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/