Meta has reached a settlement with a Kentucky school district that accused the company and other major social media platforms of contributing to a youth mental health crisis through addictive product design, ending a closely watched case weeks before it was scheduled to go to trial.
The settlement resolves claims brought by Breathitt County School District, a rural district in eastern Kentucky, against Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube. The district argued that social media companies designed products that encouraged compulsive use among children and teenagers, leading to mental health and educational challenges that schools were left to address. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Associated Press reported that Meta settled Thursday after the district had already reached agreements with the other defendants earlier in the week.
