Meta Settles Closely Watched School District Lawsuit Weeks Ahead Of Trial

Meta has reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district weeks before the case was set to go to trial in California, according to court documents. The lawsuit had alleged that Meta, Snap, YouTube and TikTok had harmed students’ mental health, which had strained school resources.

Meta’s settlement comes a week after Snap, YouTube and TikTok also reached a settlement in the case. “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.

The case was one of more than 1,000 lawsuits that have been brought by school districts around the country targeting Meta and other social media companies. The Kentucky case was the first scheduled to go to trial. Meta and other companies are still facing numerous other lawsuits from school districts, including in New York and Seattle. In a statement, lawyers for the Kentucky school district said that their focus “remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases.”

Meta was likely keen to avoid another high-profile trial that would have put its safety record in the spotlight. A Los Angeles jury recently ruled against Meta and YouTube in another trial over social media addiction that saw testimony from Mark Zuckerberg and other execs. Meta was also recently ordered to pay a $375 million fine following a trial in New Mexico over its safety practices. The company has said it plans to appeal the ruling.