Two teenagers who allege Snapchat's design drove them into compulsive use began a jury trial against Snap Inc. in Los Angeles on October 28, 2026, the first time a jury in the social media addiction litigation will hear Snap's defense. Snap denies the claims, and the trial creates no payment or claim form for other Snapchat users.
Allegations Only · Trial Underway
This article describes a trial that has just begun. The plaintiffs' claims against Snap are unproven allegations. Snap denies them, no jury has ruled on them, and there is nothing to claim. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Changed for Snap?
Until this week, Snap had kept every social media addiction case it was named in away from a jury. It settled with the plaintiff in the first Los Angeles bellwether, the K.G.M. case, on January 20, 2026, two months before that jury returned a $6 million verdict against Meta and YouTube. It paid an $8 million share of the $27 million settlement that ended the first federal school-district bellwether in May 2026, and it reached a tentative settlement in the R.K.C. case on July 20, 2026, before that trial date.That pattern ended on October 28, 2026, when jury selection began in Los Angeles Superior Court in the cases of two teen plaintiffs, S.J., 16, of Illinois, and K.D.B., 18, of Mississippi. Both settled with TikTok and YouTube before trial, and S.J. settled with Meta, but neither settled with Snap. Snap is now the only company defending against both plaintiffs; Meta is defending against K.D.B. alone. “This will be the first case against Snapchat and the first time the public has a chance to see some of their documents,” Mark Lanier, the plaintiffs’ lead counsel, told CBS News.
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What Do the Plaintiffs Allege About Snapchat?
The plaintiffs say they started on social media as young children and that design features kept them using it compulsively. The Snapchat features at the center of their claims include Snapstreaks, which count consecutive days two users have exchanged snaps, along with push notifications and view counts. They allege that compulsive use contributed to depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harm, and they describe staying up for hours on their phones and falling behind in school. K.D.B.’s complaint ties her depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts to her use of Snapchat and Instagram. Both are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.How Is Snap Defending Snapchat?
Snap’s core argument is that Snapchat is not built like the feed-driven apps the litigation targets. A Snap spokesperson said the app opens to the camera, not to a feed or a ranking of what other people post, that Snap has built safeguards, safety tools and educational resources into the platform, and that the allegations misrepresent the plaintiffs’ experiences and how Snapchat was designed. Snap and Meta have also asked Judge Kuhl to try the two plaintiffs’ cases separately, arguing that one combined trial would mix up the evidence for jurors; she had not ruled as of October 28.Snap and the other platforms argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields them from these claims. Judge Kuhl ruled that it does not bar claims about how the platforms are designed, which is why Snapchat’s features, rather than the content users posted, are what the jury will weigh.
When Will Evan Spiegel Testify?
Opening statements are scheduled for November 4, 2026, the same day Snap is scheduled to report its third-quarter results. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is expected to testify from mid-November, along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and the evidence phase is expected to run into mid-December. The court has not published a witness schedule, and the dates could change, particularly if the judge splits the trial. OCA’s full trial coverage follows both defendants.What It Means for Snapchat Users and Families
The trial decides only S.J.’s and K.D.B.’s claims. It is a bellwether, one of the test cases picked from more than 3,000 lawsuits coordinated in Los Angeles, so a first verdict on Snapchat’s design would give both sides a reference point for valuing the rest. It would not pay anyone else, and none of Snap’s earlier settlements created a fund or claim form. Families with their own Snapchat-related claims bring them as separate individual lawsuits, which OCA tracks on its Snapchat addiction lawsuit page.Questions
Has a jury ever ruled on a Snapchat addiction claim?
Not as of October 29, 2026. Snap settled before the first Los Angeles trial in January 2026 and reached a tentative settlement before a July 2026 trial, so the trial that began October 28, 2026 is the first in this litigation in which a jury will hear Snap's defense. No verdict has been reached.
Will Evan Spiegel testify in the Snapchat trial?
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is expected to testify from mid-November 2026, along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Opening statements are scheduled for November 4. The court has not published a witness schedule.
Is there a Snapchat addiction settlement to claim?
No. Snap's earlier settlements resolved specific cases on undisclosed terms and did not create a fund or claim form, and the October 2026 trial decides only two individual plaintiffs' claims. Other families' claims are brought as separate individual lawsuits.
What features of Snapchat are on trial?
The plaintiffs point to Snapstreaks, push notifications and view counts, along with autoplay and infinite scroll across the platforms they used, as features that drove compulsive use. Snap denies the claims and says Snapchat opens to the camera rather than to a feed or a ranking of other people's posts.
Sources
• Reuters, “Meta and Snap face major US legal test of youth social media addiction claims” (October 28, 2026)• Reuters via Insurance Journal, “Meta and Snap Face Major Legal Test of Youth Social Media Addiction Claims” (October 28, 2026, full text)
• ABC News, “Jury selection set to begin in Los Angeles in Snap, Meta social media addiction case” (October 28, 2026)
• TIKR, citing CBS News on the plaintiffs’ counsel and on Snap’s November 4 earnings date (October 28, 2026)
• The Inference, “Snap runs out of settlements: first jury hears the Snapchat design defense this week” (October 28, 2026)
