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Snap confidentially settled a case alleging its platform caused severe psychological distress to two teenage users, following similar settlements by Meta, TikTok and YouTube in the same litigation. Separately, Google was sued this week by parents who say their child suffered a psychological crisis after interacting with the Gemini chatbot through Google Classroom.
Snap has reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging its Snapchat platform contributed to social media addiction, resolving the case shortly before it was set to go to trial. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
Snap has settled a lawsuit filed by two teenagers who alleged its platform was designed to be addictive and contributed to their depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. The case was set to be Snap's first trial in a wider wave of litigation over social media's effects on young users, with CEO Evan Spiegel expected to testify. The same plaintiffs had already settled similar claims against Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.
Ford has publicly committed not to sell customers' driving data, a pledge issued as General Motors agreed to pay $220 million to settle claims it shared driver data without adequate consent. The announcements come amid broader scrutiny of automakers' data collection and sharing practices.
Meta reached an undisclosed settlement with an 18-year-old Mississippi plaintiff, K.D.B., just as jury selection began in Los Angeles, following earlier settlements with TikTok and YouTube in the same case. Her lawsuit alleged social media use led to compulsive scrolling, poor school performance, and self-harm. Snap now remains the sole defendant, with CEO Evan Spiegel expected to testify if the case proceeds to trial.
General Motors has agreed to a $220 million settlement tied to allegations that it sold private driver data collected from vehicles without adequate consent. The settlement resolves claims that the automaker shared or monetized data gathered through connected-car features.
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from 35 states and Washington, D.C. over its sale of Smart Driver driving-behavior data to data brokers, who resold it to insurers. Many drivers said their insurance premiums rose and that they never knowingly consented to sharing the data. This follows a separate FTC settlement finalized in January that barred GM and OnStar from sharing geolocation or driver-behavior data for five years, after which GM discontinued the Smart Driver feature entirely.
Equifax has agreed to a $100 million class-action settlement over allegations it miscalculated credit scores for millions of consumers. Eligible individuals can file a claim for compensation up to $280, with a deadline of December 28.
MZX, linked to xAI's Southaven data center operations, is offering to purchase homes near the facility, requiring sellers to sign a release waiving claims related to a pending lawsuit over noise and other grievances. MZX denies the allegations in the Haley lawsuit but says it needs the property for business purposes. Homeowners who accept the buyout and sign the release agreement would forfeit any right to recover damages or pursue further legal action tied to the plant.
AT&T agreed to pay $177 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over 2019 and 2024 data breaches that exposed personal information of more than 110 million customers. More than 4.9 million people filed claims before the December deadline, and the company could still appeal the settlement until November 2.
Google has begun accepting enrollment applications from third-party Android app stores for its Registered App Stores program, with a streamlined installation flow set to launch December 1. The program, available outside the US on Android 17 QPR2 and later, is optional for developers, and stores that don't enroll will see no change to their current installation process.
A federal judge ruled in Bartz v. Anthropic that the AI company illegally pirated books from more than 10 Stanford professors, including Tobias Wolff and Chang-rae Lee, to train Claude. Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement covering nearly 500,000 works, but Wolff and Lee opted out and filed a separate suit, Cruz v. Anthropic, seeking up to $150,000 per infringed work through a jury trial.