Meta has settled a landmark lawsuit with the Breathitt County School District in Kentucky over claims that its social networks are designed to be addictive. The lawsuit alleged that such platforms fueled a youth mental health crisis and upended learning across America, forcing public schools to spend enormous resources to address the harm. Meta reached the agreement on Thursday, following earlier settlements with co-defendants TikTok, Snap, and Google's YouTube.
The case was selected as a bellwether trial in federal court in Oakland, California, serving as a test for approximately 1,200 similar lawsuits filed by school districts across the United States. The Breathitt County School District had sought more than $60 million to create a 15-year program to counteract mental health and learning issues. While the agreement resolves the trial that had been set for June 12, the financial terms of the settlements were not disclosed.
This settlement follows recent legal losses for Meta and YouTube. In Los Angeles, a jury awarded a plaintiff approximately $6 million in damages after finding the companies liable for designing addictive features. Additionally, a jury in New Mexico determined that Meta harms children's mental health and safety in violation of state law.
Plaintiffs' attorneys stated that their focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts that have filed cases seeking compensation for costs incurred while dealing with children's social media addiction and mental health harms.