“Our focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases,” attorneys Lexi Hazam, Previn Warren, Chris Seeger, and Ronald Johnson said in a joint statement.
Meta has agreed to settle a social media addiction lawsuit filed on behalf of a Kentucky school district.
According to The Guardian, the proposed agreement was reached less than three weeks before the case was expected to move to trial. The district’s lawsuit is one of hundreds of social media addiction claims filed against companies like Meta, YouTube, and Snap.
“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 Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
TikTok, YouTube, and Snap have also settled related claims with Breathitt County Schools, a district in rural Kentucky.
In a separate statement, YouTube said that it had settled Breathitt’s claims amicably and confidentially, adding that, “for more than a decade, we’ve built YouTube responsibly—working with teachers, administrators, and parents’ groups to give students safer, more helpful experiences online.”
Breathitt County Schools had broadly accused the social media companies of deliberately designing addictive products. The effects of social media addiction, attorneys for the school argued, have led to students experiencing drastically increased rates of depression and anxiety, sometimes culminating in self-harm and attempted suicide.
Attorneys for the district have not disclosed the terms of the settlement.
“Our focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases,” attorneys Lexi Hazam, Previn Warren, Chris Seeger, and Ronald Johnson said in a joint statement.
The BBC notes that, although Meta has repeatedly pointed to the child-specific protections it offers across its social media platforms, some researchers believe that its tools are not effective at preventing children from hurting themselves, whether mentally or physically.
“When you have products designed to maximize capture of your attention, some people are going to have a harmful relationship to it,” said Arturo Bejar, described by the BBC as a whistleblower who has testified against Meta in the past.
The settlement comes scarcely two months after Meta and YouTube suffered a significant legal loss in a Los Angeles-based trial. In that case, jurors ordered the companies to pay $6 million to a young woman who accused Meta and YouTube of creating intentionally addictive products without sufficient safeguards.
Sources
Meta Settles a School District’s Social Media Addiction Lawsuit
Meta settles major social media addiction lawsuit with school district
Meta settles social media addiction case with US school district
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