Meta settles Kentucky school district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms

Meta and several other social media firms have resolved the first case among many lawsuits filed by school districts seeking repayment for expenses they say flowed from children’s mental-health problems linked to social media addiction.

The claim, brought by the small rural Breathitt County School District in Kentucky, had been scheduled for trial next month in federal court in Oakland, California. The court and the parties chose it from about 1,200 similar matters as a bellwether, meaning it would have served as an early jury test of the arguments on each side. The agreement covers only Breathitt County.

Meta settled with the district on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the other defendants in the case, TikTok, Snap and Google’s YouTube, also reached settlements.

No financial details were released. Breathitt County had asked for more than US$60 million to fund a 15-year programme it said would address learning and mental-health difficulties caused by social media.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said their attention remains on seeking justice for the other 1,200 school districts that have filed cases.

The settlement comes after Meta and YouTube suffered court defeats earlier this year in social media harm cases in California and New Mexico.

In March, a Los Angeles trial ended with Meta and YouTube being held responsible for creating addictive features. The plaintiff, identified only as KGM, said she developed a social media addiction as a child and that it worsened her mental-health challenges. Jurors found in her favour and awarded roughly US$6 million.

In New Mexico, another jury found that Meta damages children’s mental health and safety in breach of state law.