YouTube, Snap, and TikTok have reached settlements in a landmark lawsuit accusing social media companies of contributing to a youth mental health crisis and burdening schools with the resulting costs.
The settlements were disclosed in filings at a federal court in Oakland, California, resolving claims brought by the Breathitt County School District in Kentucky. Terms of the agreements were not made public.
The case is one of more than 1,200 lawsuits filed by school districts against major social media platforms over allegations that addictive platform designs harmed students’ mental health.
The Kentucky district had sought more than $60 million to fund mental health programmes and offset the costs schools incurred responding to social media-related harms among students. It also requested court orders requiring the companies to redesign features considered addictive.
A spokesperson for YouTube said the matter had been “amicably resolved,” while Snap also confirmed a settlement. TikTok did not immediately comment.
The settlements come after a Los Angeles jury in March found Meta and Google negligent for designing social media products considered harmful to young users, awarding $6 million to a plaintiff who said she became addicted to social media as a child.
The broader litigation involving thousands of cases remains ongoing in California state and federal courts.
