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.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-11-02
Court filings in litigation over Meta's teen safety claims reveal internal 'Well-being Meeting' notes from March 2023 describing a 'Whisper strategy' aimed at turning other academics against social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, a vocal critic linking social media to teen mental health problems. The notes, dated around a Substack post by Haidt, appear informal and typo-ridden, and it remains unclear whether Meta ever acted on the ideas discussed.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-28
Character.ai, the platform that lets users chat with AI avatars modeled on fictional characters and real public figures, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company had faced scrutiny over the platform's impact on teen mental health.
wsj.com
· 2026-10-13
Meta has expanded its Instagram School Partnership Program, adding tools that let verified students and staff post Stories and notes visible only to their own school. The update also introduces admin-only channels for parent and student updates, school-wide clubs and teams, and a student directory limited to peers and mutual teen followers.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-29
Psychologist Peter Gray's Restoring Childhood disputes The Anxious Generation's central claim that smartphones and social media caused the post-2010 teen mental health crisis. Gray instead traces the decline to decades of shrinking childhood autonomy and rigid, test-focused schooling tied to Common Core, arguing home internet access in the 1990s and 2000s actually improved teen wellbeing by restoring lost freedom and social connection.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-15
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