Social Media Firms Settle Kentucky School Lawsuit

Several major social media companies have agreed to pay about $27 million to a Kentucky school district in settlement of a lawsuit that blamed them for contributing to a student mental health crisis, according to court documents reviewed by AFP.

The settlement includes $9 million from Meta, $8 million each from Snap Inc. and ByteDance, and about $2 million in cash plus $900,000 worth of training and software licences from Google, whose portfolio includes YouTube.

The case was filed by the Breathitt County school district in rural eastern Kentucky and selected as a test case among more than 1,200 similar lawsuits filed by school districts across the United States.

Social Media Firms Settle Kentucky School Lawsuit Credit: Economic Times

The district had sought more than $60 million to fund a 15-year mental health programme and cover the costs of addressing issues linked to social media use, including sleep disruption, emotional distress, and student conflicts.

The case was scheduled to proceed to trial later this month in Oakland, California, but the companies opted to settle before proceedings began.

Under the agreement, Google also committed to providing an on-site professional development and training coach, a three-year licence for its Google AI for Education software, a four-year “Social Emotional Learning” programme, and technical support for its Google Workspace tools.

None of the companies admitted wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

The agreement is expected to increase pressure on other tech firms to settle similar cases currently overseen by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who recently presided over proceedings involving Elon Musk and OpenAI chief Sam Altman.

The settlement follows a series of legal rulings against social media platforms.

In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable for the addictive design of Instagram and YouTube, a decision that could influence future social media addiction cases.

That same month, a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million for exposing minors to harmful content and sexual predators.

More than 30 U.S. states are also pursuing separate legal action against Meta over similar allegations, with a trial expected in Oakland in August.

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