In the United States, more than 1,000 school districts have sued social media companies for “addictive” products. Companies that settled the social media addiction lawsuit filed by the Breathitt County, Kentucky, school district will pay a collective amount of about $27 million, according to Bloomberg. Some companies announced earlier this month that they had settled with the plaintiff but did not disclose the financial details.
Bloomberg reports that Meta pays the district $9 million, more than any other defendant. Snap and TikTok agreed to pay $8 million each, while YouTube negotiated a payment of just over $2 million. The publication obtained these financial details from documents released under state public records access laws.
YouTube will also provide district teachers with training programs to help them use its platform more effectively in their lessons. All companies have also committed to investing in stronger safeguards for their younger user base.
The Breathitt County lawsuit is just one of more than 1,300 complaints filed by school districts across the United States, accusing companies of creating products as addictive as cigarettes and then targeting minors. The lawsuits claim the companies’ products cause not only addiction, but also depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide in young users.
The Kentucky school district initially requested $60 million to fund its mental health programs to address the harms of social media on its students. The principal at Breathitt County High School said most of his time is spent on “social media stuff,” such as addressing students who film fights at school and who bully each other online.
The Breathitt County trial was intended as a benchmark trial, an initial test case that could determine potential settlements and damages for other similar cases brought by the plaintiffs. His hearing was scheduled for June 12. With the defendants having settled that case, the first real social media addiction trial involving a school district could take place next year, in February 2027. Bloomberg says the lawsuits could cost companies $400 billion in total — Breathitt County is a small rural district, after all, and larger ones could get bigger payouts.
