Snap Inc. says it can’t be sued for allegedly addicting young users and contributing to a mental health crisis because its “ephemeral” messaging service is “fundamentally different” from other platforms including TikTok and Instagram that are at the center of a surge in lawsuits over social media addiction.

“Unlike these other platforms, Snapchat is primarily used for direct communication between people who already know each other in real life,” Snap’s attorneys said in a filing seeking dismissal of the cases against the company.

Platform owners Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd., Google and Snap are fighting almost 200 lawsuits filed across the US on behalf of adolescents and young adults — and at least two dozen complaints by public school districts — blaming the companies for health issues including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and sleeplessness.

The social media companies filed a joint request late Monday for dismissal to a federal judge in Oakland, Calif., contending the plaintiffs have failed to adequately state claims of wrongdoing. Snap’s attorneys submitted an additional filing to argue that the platform stand outs among its peers in ways that diminish harmful influences on youths.

Snapchat doesn’t feature “like counts” used to show positive reactions to content or “other public vanity metrics,” Snap said in its filing. And “far from encouraging minor users to create permanent content for public consumption,” messages called “Snaps” or “Chats” disappear shortly after they’re seen by users, the company said.

Earlier in the litigation, Snap, ByteDance, and Google argued said they preferred to defend themselves separately from Meta because the bulk of the suits were brought against the Instagram owner. They argued it would be inefficient for them to be dragged into Meta’s fight. But a panel of federal judges decided to group all the cases together.

The case is In Re. Social Media Adolescent Addiction and Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, 22-MD-3047, US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg