Wire reporting: (Reuters, via CNA)

Meta Platforms settled Friday with an 18-year-old plaintiff in a Los Angeles trial over claims that Instagram and Facebook were designed to be addictive and contributed to mental-health problems and disordered eating, according to Reuters reporting carried by CNA, citing the plaintiff's attorneys¹.

Jury selection had begun Wednesday in a case that was set to test claims by two young people, identified in court papers as S.J. and K.D.B., against Meta and Snap Inc., the parent of Snapchat^1,3,6. Meta had already settled with S.J., a 16-year-old from Illinois, days before trial, CNA's Reuters copy said; Friday's deal with K.D.B., 18, of Mississippi, means the trial is expected to continue against Snap only^1,6.

K.D.B. has alleged that compulsive use of Snapchat and Instagram contributed to depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, ABC News reported before the settlement⁴. Plaintiffs have pointed to features such as autoplay, infinite scroll, Snapstreaks, push notifications and view counts^4,6. They have said they used YouTube as early as age 3 or 4 and other platforms around age 9⁶.

TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube, originally named in the suit, settled before trial^3,6. A Snap spokesperson told ABC News the allegations misrepresent the plaintiffs' experiences on the app⁴. A Meta spokesperson said the company disagreed with the allegations and that a young person's mental health is shaped by many factors⁴.

The case is the second Los Angeles state-court trial of individual claims that platforms were designed to encourage compulsive use^1,6. In March, a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent and awarded $6 million to a young woman identified as K.G.M.; ABC News said the companies are appealing^4,6.

Social media companies face thousands of related lawsuits in U.S. courts from individuals, schools and governments^1,6. In August, Meta reached settlements worth up to $18 billion with U.S. states and territories over teen mental health on its apps and agreed to product changes; ABC News said that deal involved 48 states and no admission of wrongdoing^4,6. Terms of Friday's individual settlement were not disclosed in the reports reviewed¹.

Not medical advice.