Meta settles bellwether social media addiction case with Kentucky school district | Latest Tech News
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta will keep away from a social media addiction trial in California federal court after placing a settlement settlement with a Kentucky school district, a case seen as a bellwether as the tech giant faces an onslaught of litigation.
Breathitt County School District in Kentucky had accused Meta of fueling social media addiction among youngsters and fueling a public health disaster.
It was one of more than 1,200 school districts making comparable claims against Meta as half of consolidated court proceedings in California.
Mark Zuckerberg arrives outdoors court to take the stand at trial in a key take a look at case accusing Meta and Google’s YouTube of harming youngsters’ mental health through addictive platforms. REUTERS
Both sides declined to remark on the settlement’s financial phrases. The trial had been scheduled to start on June 15 in Oakland.
“Our focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases,” plaintiffs’ attorneys Lexi Hazam, Previn Warren, Chris Seegar and Ronald Johnson said in a joint assertion to The Post.
Meta was the last holdout in the case. Fellow defendants, including Alphabet-owned YouTube, Snap and TikTok, reached settlements last week.
Breathitt faculties had sued for more than $60 million in damages and assets meant to help youngsters struggling with social media-related hurt like anxiety and depression, as nicely as court orders that would block Meta from implementing addictive options on Facebook and Instagram.
“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,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a assertion.
The Kentucky case was thought-about a essential take a look at of the legal arguments set to be deployed by school districts from around the nation.
Meta lately suffered back to back losses in court. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Meta still faces more than 2,400 pending lawsuits filed by faculties, state attorneys basic and people.
The next case, introduced by the Tucson Unified School District in Arizona, is slated to be heard in January 2027.
As The Post reported, Meta argued in pre-trial filings in the Kentucky case that Zuckerberg ought to only have to testify in individual one time, with all other plaintiffs in the upcoming instances relying on a videotaped file of his testimony.
Warren and other plaintiffs’ attorneys have been pushing for Zuckerberg to seem at each and every trial.
Meta’s determination to settle adopted back-to-back losses in trials that made comparable claims against the social media giant. In March, a Los Angeles state jury discovered Meta and Google liable for $6 million in damages to a girl referred to as KGM, who alleged that the apps fueled her descent into anxiety and depression.
In New Mexico, a jury slapped Meta with a $375 million penalty for failing to shield youngsters from inappropriate predators and other online harms.
The state is searching for major adjustments to Meta’s apps in a second trial section, which is still underway and has prompted the company to threaten to pull out of New Mexico in response.
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