Meta
This photo illustration shows the Meta logo in the foreground, with logos of Meta-owned platforms and applications. Getty Images

Meta has settled its latest lawsuit involving the addictive and harmful nature of its products.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an 18-year-old woman identified in court documents as K.D.B, CBS News recalled. It alleged that Meta and Snap (Snapchat's parent company) purposely created addictive products.

A second plaintiff known as S.J. had settled with Meta last week. The terms were not announced, and the plaintiffs' attorneys said the lawsuit against Snap will proceed.

"Each plaintiff alleges that Snap designed Snapchat to maximize the time young users spend on the app, using features such as Snapstreaks, Snapscores, push notifications, and filters, and that their compulsive use of Snapchat caused and contributed to severe mental and physical health injuries, including depression, anxiety, an eating disorder, and self-harm," the spokesperson said.

The two plaintiffs had previously settled with TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube platform. Snap disputes the allegations.

The settlement is the latest in a string of legal defeats for social media companies.

Read more

Earlier this year Meta agreed to make massive changes to its platforms to protect children and pay $18 billion in damages to settle dozens of lawsuits filed by state attorneys general across the country.

In settling, Meta agreed to make a slew of changes to its social media platforms including enhanced parental controls, a commitment to age assurance of users, and age-appropriate content restrictions. Some of the design changes for children will include hidden "likes" as a default, meaning kids won't be able to see how many "likes" their content gets or how many "likes" other people get.

"We are talking about time limits, stopping notifications during school, a block on the app during critical overnight hours, bans on plastic surgery filters, and so much more," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at the time.

That agreement came after Meta lost a lawsuit filed by New Mexico. In that case, the company was ordered to pay $375 million in penalties, and an additional $567 million to set up a fund meant to address the mental health issues in children the company has helped cause.