Meta was sued by a US school district over the costs of fighting a mental health crisis caused by the addictive nature of its platforms.
Meta has agreed to settle lawsuit bought forward by Kentucky school district in the US, which had sued the tech giant over the cost of handling a mental health crisis allegedly caused by the addictive nature of its social media platforms.
The settlement comes less than three weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial in a Californian federal court.
The Breathitt School District’s case was a test case for around 1,200 other US school districts, which have launched claims against social media firms. The school districts allege the companies designed their respective platforms to be addictive, which has resulted in mental health struggles for children, including depression and self harm.
The Kentucky school district also settled with three other defendants in the past week: TikTok, Snap Inc, and YouTube, the BBC reported.
A Meta spokesperson said: “We’ve resolved this case amicably and remain focused on our longstanding work to build protections like Teen Accounts that help teens stay safe online, while giving parents simple controls to support their families.”
A YouTube spokesperson also confirmed the matter had been resolved amicably and it has worked with “teachers, administrators and parents’ groups to give students safer, more helpful experiences onlines”.
The legal action looked to recover over $60m to cover the cost of mental health support for students, as well as the cost of a 15-year programme to improve the issues. The case also sought a court order to require the platforms to change the way they operate to include fewer addictive features.
The terms of the settlements have not been disclosed, and the platforms did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Another two lawsuits against social media companies are scheduled for trial in July. The first has been brought by an individual in California state court; the second is by the attorney general of Tennessee in federal court.
The timing of this settlement comes soon after a California jury found Meta and YouTube to have been negligent in the operation of platforms which harmed children and teenagers, failing to warn them of the dangers of use.
This too was a test case, which saw an adult woman win $3m after arguing that social media use as a teenager had contributed to anxiety, body dysmorphia, and depression.
More legal action is expected against social media platforms in the coming months.
