Kentucky social media settlement: Meta reportedly paying $27M to settle addiction case
Jury finds Meta, Youtube liable in social media case
Meta and YouTube have been ordered to pay $6 million in the landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles.The combined $6 million verdict included punitive damages, and follows the jury’s finding of "malice, oppression, or fraud," specifically targeting the companies' intentional use of addictive design features. Star Kashman with Cyber Law Firm weighs in.
We’re learning more details about a settlement case involving Meta platforms and a school district in Kentucky.
The district brought a lawsuit against Meta that was scheduled to go to trial in June in federal court in Oakland, California, but the two parties settled the case last month.
Kentucky Meta settlement
Meta logo displayed on a laptop screen and Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger icons displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on July 31, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/ NurPhoto via Getty Images
What’s new:
Reuters obtained court records related to the settlement and reported Meta platforms are paying roughly $27 million to settle the case.
By the numbers:
The Breathitt County School District had sought more than $50 million to create a 15-year program it said would help counteract mental health and learning issues caused by social media.
The backstory:
The lawsuit had been selected as a bellwether case, meaning it was essentially a test case for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury.
Meta reached a settlement with the district on May 21, and other social media platforms who were defendants in the case also reached settlements. Those included TikTok, Snap and Google’s YouTube.
Meta is the parent of Instagram, Facebook and Threads. It also owns the widely-used international messaging service WhatsApp.
Meanwhile:
About 1,200 similar lawsuits have been filed across the country.
RELATED: Meta violated child safety laws, jury says: What this means for social media
Social media addiction
Meta ordered to pay $375M after child safety trial
We are getting the latest tonight as a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million. This comes after they reportedly found evidence that the company violated state law and misled users about the safety of its platforms. Attorney General Raul Torrez accused Meta of failing to protect children from predators. LiveNOW’s Shawna Khalafi is speaking with legal analyst Neama Rahmani, who helps explain the difference between this case and the high-profile Los Angeles trial surrounding claims of social media addiction.
Big picture view:
Lawsuits are seeking to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children. The companies behind the apps have an incentive to keep you using them so they can serve up ads that make billions of dollars in revenue.
Dig deeper:
Earlier this year, in a separate case, a New Mexico jury found Meta harmed children and broke state consumer protection laws, with penalties reaching $375 million.
And in March, Meta and YouTube were found liable for designing addictive features following a trial in Los Angeles. The plaintiff, known by her initials KGM, claimed she became addicted to social media as a child and that it exacerbated her mental health struggles. A jury sided with her and awarded about $6 million in damages.
READ MORE: Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial
The Source: Information in this article was taken from court records obtained by Reuters. Background information was taken from previous FOX Television Station reportings, and from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.