Meta settles Kentucky school district lawsuit over addictive platform design

March 27, 2025 — Meta agreed on Thursday to settle a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district that accused the company of using addictive design practices that harmed students' mental health.

The Breathitt County School District's case was the first of at least 1,200 similar lawsuits filed by school districts against Meta, Snap, YouTube, and TikTok over alleged harms linked to social media use. The remaining cases have not yet gone to trial.

Key Details

• The school district had sought more than $60 million to fund a long-term program addressing mental health and academic problems caused by excessive student social media use.
• The settlement amount Meta will pay has not been disclosed.
• Snap, TikTok, and YouTube settled with the district late last week.
• A jury trial had been expected to begin in June.

Recent Legal Losses for Social Media Platforms

Social media companies have faced setbacks in court on similar issues:

• In March, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable for a young California girl's social media addiction, which allegedly caused her mental health problems. The jury ordered Meta to pay $6 million.
• Also in March, a New Mexico jury sided against Meta, awarding the state $375 million after the attorney general sued, alleging the company threatened children's safety and mental health.

A Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Allegations Against Meta

The plaintiffs have argued that Meta intentionally designs its platforms to be addictive through:

• Harmful algorithms
• Push notifications
• Encouraging infinite scrolling

These design choices, along with the resulting addiction, have forced schools to spend significant resources to address the problem, according to the plaintiffs.

Shift in Legal Strategy

The settlement marks a reversal for Meta, which had previously taken the New Mexico and California cases to trial and described the lawsuits as frivolous.

School District's Complaint

In its complaint, the Breathitt County School District accused Meta and other platforms of operating their businesses to "exploit the neurophysiology of the brain's reward systems." The district alleged that the platforms target young people because their profits increase as user engagement rises.

"America's youth lack the emotional maturity, impulse control, and psychological resiliency to perceive, understand and combat the manipulation and harm that is occurring through the social media platforms."

The district reported spending substantial sums tracking and treating the effects of social media addiction, which it said has led to suicides, cyberbullying, and other online abuses.

"Despite plaintiff's best efforts, the mental health crisis persists, and the budget is not adequate to take the steps needed to fully address this crisis. Plaintiff needs significantly more funding than it has to implement potentially lifesaving programs in the face of this ever-increasing mental health crisis that the defendants helped create."