On Nov. 2, 2026, Snap settled claims by two teenagers who alleged its platform was designed to foster addictive use and contributed to depression, anxiety and eating disorders. The settlement ended a bellwether trial during jury selection; Snap CEO Evan Spiegel had been expected to testify. Snap has denied designing its platforms to addict young people and says it works to improve safety.
If the plaintiffs show social media platforms harm users, the knowledge and failure of Zuckerberg, Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri to take steps to prevent those harms would be relevant to establish negligence, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl ruled Monday.
A Snap spokesperson said in a statement that the company has built safeguards, launched safety tutorials and partnered with experts, and remains committed to “continually strengthening the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community."
By Craig Clough ( November 2, 2026, 1:25 PM EST) -- Snap Inc. revealed Monday that it has reached settlements with two plaintiffs over claims its platform harms the mental health of children, cutting short the second such Los Angeles bellwether trial in the midst of jury selection. . . .
Snap has reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by two teenagers who accused the company of designing its platform to be addictive and contributing to their depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, as first reported by Reuters. The plaintiffs had previously reached settlements with Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.
California’s Civil Rights Department said Snap agreed to a $15 million settlement over alleged discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against women, including claims involving equal pay and promotion opportunities. The agreement required workplace policy and monitoring measures and compensation for eligible California employees from 2014–2024. The department said a court approved the consent decree on November 8, 2024.
SACRAMENTO – The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) today announced obtaining a $15 million settlement agreement with Snap Inc. — known for the Snapchat social media platform — over alleged discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against women at the company. As part of the agreement, which is subject to court approval, Snap Inc. has committed to taking action to help ensure the implementation of fair employment practices and provide monetary relief to women who were employees at the company in California between 2014 and 2024.
In July 2024, a Georgia judge ordered Snap CEO Evan Spiegel to sit for a five-hour deposition in a lawsuit alleging the company’s speed filter encouraged reckless driving and contributed to a 2015 crash. The court said Snap’s discovery responses identified Spiegel as involved in creating the filter and solely responsible for approving its removal. The allegations remain claims in the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, the driver of the car that rear-ended Maynard's, Christal McGee, told her passengers moments before the crash that she was trying to get to 100 mph in order to post a photo on Snapchat using the speed filter. McGee's Mercedes was traveling at an estimated 107 mph when she hit Maynard's Mitsubishi Outlander, which was flung into an embankment.
A June 25, 2026 report says Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and his wife, Miranda Kerr, partnered with Undue Medical Debt on a donation expected to erase $550 million in California medical debt for an estimated 261,000 people. The nonprofit planned to notify recipients beginning in mid-July; the report describes the relief as forthcoming.
Spiegel, whose personal net worth is around $2.1 billion according to Forbes, has been generous in the past. He paid off student debt for the graduating class of 2022 of the Otis College of Art and Design and launched the Department of Angels, personally donating $5 million in immediate aid and committing over $10 million to help survivors recover, rebuild, and navigate insurance claims following the devastating Los Angeles County wildfires last year.
As of Thursday morning, Snap, Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel and his wife, Australian model and KORA Organics CEO Miranda Kerr, announced their partnership with nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to relieve $550 million in medical debt across California.
In October 2026, Utah and Idaho announced a settlement joined by 16 other states with Snap Finance. States alleged misleading lease disclosures, confusing terms and difficulties returning products. Snap cooperated and agreed to practice changes; the settlement cancels about $662 million in lease payments for consumers and requires Snap to pay $2.75 million to states.
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and the Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection join 16 other states in a $665 million settlement with Snap Finance
AG Labrador’s Consumer Protection Division investigated Snap’s alleged violations of the Idaho Consumer Protection Act and found that Snap used misleading disclosures about the nature of their leasing arrangements; Snap did not allow customers to view the full terms of their contracts; customers experienced extreme communication issues when they were trying to return products; and Snap’s payment terms were confusing to customers.
On April 15, 2026, Snap said it planned to eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or 16% of full-time staff, and more than 300 unfilled roles. CEO Evan Spiegel cited AI and cost reductions; the company said the cuts were expected to save more than $500 million by the second half of 2026. Engadget reported four-month severance for affected staff.
Snap on Wednesday announced plans to eliminate about 1,000 jobs, including 16 percent of its full-time staff, as the company seeks to lower costs and increase its reliance on artificial intelligence.
Snap is laying off around 1,000 staff, amounting to 16 percent of its workforce, which it will seemingly replace with AI. The cuts were announced in a company-wide memo from CEO Evan Spiegel, who added that more than 300 open roles are also being closed.
In a 2017 lawsuit, former Snap employee Anthony Pompliano alleged that Snap misreported daily active users and retaliated after he raised concerns. He said CEO Evan Spiegel dismissed a discrepancy as “no big deal.” Snap denied misleading investors or advertisers, calling the difference a minor metrics deviation after a systems change; the allegations were disputed.
Former Snap employee Anthony Pompliano is suing his former employer for preventing him from getting future employment, saying company had a vendetta against him after he revealed to executives several key performance indicators (KPIs) were falsely reported to investors, advertisers and the press. The case had been redacted when it was initially filed in January in the L.A. Superior Court system, but Snap unsealed the documents in a motion on Monday.
When confronted with allegations that Snap was misrepresenting important metrics, CEO Evan Spiegel claimed they "don't matter" and it was "no big deal," according to an unsealed lawsuit against the company.
In response to the conflict in Ukraine, Snap said it stood with its Ukrainian employees and the people of Ukraine, where it said more than 300 team members were based. It stopped ads running in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, halted ad sales to Russian and Belarusian organizations, and said Snapchat would remain available while it monitored for disinformation and misuse.
Snap said: "We stand in solidarity with our Ukrainian team members and the people of Ukraine who are fighting for their lives and for their freedom."
OpenSecrets records $890,000 in direct federal lobbying by Snap Inc. for 2025, with no spending attributed to subsidiaries. Its filings mentioned seven bills, including online privacy, app-store accountability, online safety, the TAKE IT DOWN Act and the Kids Off Social Media Act. The figures count bill mentions in lobbying reports, not necessarily positions or outcomes.
A 2019 report said at least three people had been arrested in the prior year for illegally selling guns using Snapchat; in two cases, sellers allegedly posted gun photos and videos to advertise weapons. Snap said it bars illegal content and firearm promotions, but the report noted enforcement challenges and that Snapchat had no blanket ban on gun sales.
Snapchat bans ads that promote “firearms, weapons, ammunition, or related accessories,” and it says the app shouldn’t be used for “any illegal activities,” including buying and selling illegal weapons. A spokesperson for Snap said the company doesn’t allow illegal content to be promoted or distributed.
Announced May 13, 2024, the program lets advertisers view carbon-impact measurements for Snap ad campaigns, with Scope3 estimating impacts across processes such as hosting and viewing ads. Snap said its initial measurements showed Snapchat ads were 39% more efficient than similar apps and about 60% more efficient than programmatic advertising; those are company-reported comparisons.
Snapchat has announced a new initiative aimed at improving its environmental impact, by helping advertisers understand the carbon footprint of their Snap ads.
Snap said its $60–$80 weekly meal-card or payroll benefit would end in October 2023, without replacement, as it expanded weekday lunches across its offices ahead of a planned return to office. Some employees viewed the change as cost-cutting or an effort to encourage attendance; a source said the return-to-office schedule had already been delayed.
Snap is ending a benefit for employees to buy food during the work week.
In comments reported May 1, 2026, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said the public may push back against AI and argued technology companies should put humanity’s interests alongside business goals. Snap had introduced AI Sponsored Snaps and Spiegel said AI wrote two-thirds of its code; the article also reported the company’s planned workforce cuts.
Snap, the tech company behind the social media app SnapChat, introduced on Tuesday AI Sponsored Snaps, an advertising tool that will allow users to chat with AI bots from a brand partnered with the social media platform. It’s one of the many ways the company has continued to lean into AI. But Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said the pivot toward new technologies won’t necessarily help the company score any popularity points.
At an October 2021 conference, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said regulation cannot replace companies’ moral responsibility to support users’ well-being and that regulators can lag behind. He said Snap was building a family center to help parents see children’s Snapchat friends and privacy settings, and argued the app’s camera-first design differs from a social feed.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel on Tuesday said that regulation is not a substitute for the moral responsibility that social media companies have over the content shared on their services.
"The important point to make is that regulation is not a substitute for moral responsibility and for business practices that support the health and well being of your community," said Spiegel, speaking at the Wall Street Journal Live Conference.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel says social media companies must take responsibility instead of waiting for laws
A federal judge gave final approval in April 2026 to Snap’s $65 million settlement, ending a proposed investor class action alleging the company misled investors about the effect of Apple privacy changes on its advertising business. The case involved CEO Evan Spiegel and former executive Jeremi Gorman; the settlement covered specified securities transactions from February to October 2021.
Snap Inc.'s $65 million settlement garnered a federal judge’s final blessing, ending allegations the technology giant misled investors about how Apple Inc. privacy changes would impact its advertising business.
A $65 million Snap Inc. settlement with investors who sued it for allegedly being misled, has received a judge's preliminary approval.
OpenSecrets lists Snap Inc. lobbying in the 118th Congress on several bills, including the Kids Online Safety Act, STOP CSAM Act, children’s online privacy legislation, the American Privacy Rights Act, the Kids Off Social Media Act and the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The listing gives report counts but does not specify Snap’s position on the bills.
<table id="DataTables_Table_0"> <thead> <tr><th rowspan="1" colspan="1">Bill Number</th><th rowspan="1" colspan="1">Congress</th><th rowspan="1" colspan="1">Title</th><th rowspan="1" colspan="1">No. of Reports & Specific Issues*</th></tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>S.1409 </td> <td>118</td> <td>Kids Online Safety Act</td> <td>4</td> </tr><tr> <td>S.1199 </td> <td>118</td> <td>STOP CSAM Act of 2023</td> <td>4</td> </tr><tr> <td>H.R.7890 </td> <td>118</td> <td>Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act</td> <td>3</td> </tr><tr> <td>H.R.8818 </td> <td>118</td> <td>American Privacy Rights Act of 2024</td> <td>3</td> </tr><tr> <td>H.R.7891 </td> <td>118</td> <td>Kids Online Safety Act</td> <td>3</td> </tr><tr> <td>S.1418 </td> <td>118</td> <td>Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act</td> <td>3</td> </tr><tr> <td>S.4213 </td> <td>118</td> <td>Kids Off Social Media Act</td> <td>3</td> </tr><tr> <td>S.4569 </td> <td>118</td> <td>TAKE IT DOWN Act</td> <td>1</td> </tr></tbody> <tfoot> <tr><td rowspan="1" colspan="4">*Each quarterly filing is treated as a separate report.</td></tr> </tfoot> </table>
InfluenceWatch reports that Michael Lynton made several donations of $2,800 to $5,800 to Democratic candidates and causes after joining Snap’s board, including campaigns associated with Raphael Warnock, Cory Booker and Chuck Schumer. It also notes larger donations he made in 2016 while at Sony.
Michael Lynton has a history of political donations to Democratic causes. Among his larger political donations in 2016 while he was with Sony, Lynton gave $28,000 to the DNC Services Corporation/Democratic National Committee, $33,400 to the Hillary Victory Fund, $12,700 to the Kamala Harris Victory Fund, $10,000 to the California Democratic Party. 15 Since joining the board of Snap, Lynton has made multiple smaller donations ranging from $2,800 to $5,800 to Democratic causes such as U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the presidential campaign of Cory Booker and the reelection campaign of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. 15