Social media companies will pay $27 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by a Kentucky school district, according to records
A Kentucky school district has obtained approximately $27 million in settlements from Meta Platforms (META.O) and other social media companies, based on claims that they contributed to a student mental health crisis, as per records reviewed by Reuters on Friday.
Meta has agreed to pay the highest amount of $9 million in the bellwether case concerning school districts, as documents have now revealed the financial terms for the first time, since the details of the deals were not disclosed in court.
The operator of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp reached a settlement with the Breathitt County School District on May 21, just weeks ahead of a scheduled trial in June. This settlement follows similar agreements made by co-defendants Snap Inc, YouTube parent Alphabet, and TikTok parent ByteDance.
The settlements did not necessitate the companies to acknowledge liability and contained no agreements to implement changes to the social media platforms.
The companies have refuted the allegations, asserting that they implement comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of teens and young users on their platforms.
YouTube has agreed to pay $2.01 million to settle the case, while Snap and TikTok have each consented to pay $8 million, as reported by Reuters, which obtained copies of the settlements from the school district through a public records request. YouTube has also committed to offering the district specialized training on Google Classroom and other products.
Representatives for Meta, YouTube, and Snapchat stated in separate announcements that the companies have amicably resolved the case and remain dedicated to developing tools and features aimed at ensuring user safety on their platforms.
Representatives for TikTok did not provide a response to the request for comment.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs also did not respond to a request for comment. They have stated that their current focus is on pursuing similar claims made by 1,200 other school districts.
Bigger school districts are also taking legal action.
The Breathitt school district, located in a rural county in Appalachia, has accused the companies of creating their platforms in a way that keeps young users engaged, leading to increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm among students, while leaving schools to manage the fallout.
The school district was pursuing more than $60 million to address the effects of social media on students’ mental health and to finance a 15-year mental health initiative aimed at alleviating the issue. It also requested a court order mandating the companies to alter their platforms to diminish addictive features.
Breathitt’s case was the first of the school districts’ cases, which have been consolidated in federal court in California, to go to trial. Judges and attorneys frequently utilize bellwether verdicts to evaluate the potential worth of outstanding claims and to inform settlement discussions.
Breathitt is a small district serving approximately 1,600 students across six schools, as indicated by federal data; however, the litigation also encompasses much larger districts.
Tucson Unified School District in Arizona, which serves approximately 40,000 students and has a trial scheduled for February, is requesting over $1.1 billion to support a 15-year mental health program, in addition to more than $100 million in compensation for the time teachers and staff have dedicated to addressing the effects of social media.
The Los Angeles Unified School District and the New York City public school system, which collectively serve over 1.2 million students, have also filed a lawsuit.
Meta has cautioned investors that legal and regulatory repercussions in the European Union and the U.S. regarding youth social media concerns “could significantly affect our business and financial outcomes.
California state court currently has over 3,300 pending lawsuits related to addiction claims against social media companies. California federal court currently has another 2,400 cases filed by individuals, municipalities, states, and school districts pending.
