Meta settles social media addiction case with US school district
Source: BBC Technology
Meta has reached a settlement with a U.S. school district that had sued the Instagram owner over the costs of fighting a mental‑health crisis allegedly caused by the company’s social‑media platforms.
Background
Breathitt School District in Kentucky was poised to litigate the first case seeking to make social‑media companies cover the costs of addressing the mental‑health impacts of their platforms on students. The district alleged that the companies deliberately designed their platforms to be addictive, resulting in harms ranging from anxiety and depression to self‑harm. It sought $60 million (£44.7 m) in damages and an abatement program, and wanted the companies to change the alleged addictive nature of their platforms.
The case was part of a larger multi‑district litigation involving more than a thousand U.S. school districts that have pursued similar claims. A trial was slated to begin in mid‑June in federal court in Oakland, California, while a separate bellwether trial for cases brought against Meta by U.S. states is set to start in the same court in August.
Settlement
Meta settled the case on Thursday; the terms were not disclosed. The settlement allows Meta to avoid mounting a defence at trial, though similar cases remain pending.
“We’ve resolved this case amicably,” a Meta spokesperson said, adding that the company remains “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.”
The district’s attorneys said they will continue pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts that have filed cases.
Related Developments
- A 20‑year‑old woman known as Kaley was awarded $6 million (£4.5 m) in damages after jurors agreed that the companies intentionally built addictive platforms that harmed her mental health. Meta and Google announced intentions to appeal.
- Snap and TikTok settled a related case just before that trial, which was a bellwether for similar lawsuits in state court.
- Instagram Teen Accounts, launched two years ago to protect teenagers from harmful content, have been criticized by researchers for failing to stop young users from seeing suicide and self‑harm posts.
- Arturo Béjar, a Meta whistleblower, testified that “when you have products designed to maximize capture of your attention, some people are going to have a harmful relationship to it.”
- The Tech Transparency Project, an advocacy group, reported that Meta has been paying Instagram influencers to positively shape the narrative around its Teen Accounts.
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