A major social media company has reached an agreement to settle what was considered the first significant lawsuit among hundreds filed by school districts across the country demanding payment for expenses related to student mental health problems they blame on social media dependency.
The legal action filed by a small, rural Kentucky school district was scheduled for trial in federal court in Oakland, California next month. Court officials and legal teams chose it as a test case from among 1,200 comparable lawsuits to gauge how their legal strategies would perform with a jury. The agreement only covers the Breathitt County School District.
Meta finalized its settlement with the district on Thursday, after other companies named in the lawsuit — TikTok, Snap and Google’s YouTube — reached their own agreements earlier in the week.
Officials did not reveal the monetary details of the settlements. The school district had requested over $60 million to establish a 15-year initiative they claimed would address mental health and educational problems linked to social media use.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs stated that their “focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases.”
This agreement comes after Meta and YouTube suffered courtroom defeats in social media harm cases in California and New Mexico earlier this year.
In March, a Los Angeles trial resulted in Meta and YouTube being held responsible for creating addictive platform features. The complainant, identified only as KGM, argued she developed a social media addiction as a minor that worsened her mental health problems. The jury ruled in her favor and granted approximately $6 million in compensation.
Additionally, in New Mexico, a jury concluded that Meta damages children’s mental health and safety, breaking state regulations.
