Social-Media Companies Settle Youth-Harm Case Ahead of Wave of Trials

Meta Platforms reached a settlement with a Kentucky school district over accusations that social-media companies intentionally designed their platforms to addict young people, becoming the last major platform to resolve the case and avert a coming trial. The settlement spares the companies from a June jury trial that was poised to be the first among more than 1,200 lawsuits brought by school districts alleging student mental-health harms caused by Meta, TikTok, Snap, and Alphabet’s YouTube. The cases are consolidated in federal court in Oakland (CA), but will be tried individually. Breathitt School District reached the settlement for an undisclosed amount. The district is located in rural eastern Kentucky and had roughly 1,700 students enrolled in the 2024-25 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.