Several leading social media companies have agreed to pay approximately 27 million dollars to settle a lawsuit filed by a school district in the United States over claims that their platforms contributed to a student mental health crisis.
Court documents reviewed by AFP showed that the settlement involved major technology firms, including Meta, Snap, ByteDance and Google.
Under the agreement, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will pay nine million dollars, while Snap, owner of Snapchat, and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, will each contribute eight million dollars.
Google, whose products include YouTube, will pay about two million dollars in cash and provide educational training and software licences valued at about 900,000 dollars.
The lawsuit was filed by the Breathitt County School District in Kentucky, a rural district whose case was selected as a test case among more than 1,200 similar lawsuits brought by school districts across the United States.
The district had sought more than 60 million dollars to fund a 15-year mental health programme and address the alleged effects of social media use on students, including sleep disorders, emotional distress and interpersonal conflicts.
The case was scheduled to proceed to trial later this month in Oakland, California, before the companies opted to settle.
As part of its contribution, Google will provide professional development support, licences for its artificial intelligence education software, a social-emotional learning programme and technical assistance for educational tools.
The settlement agreements do not include any admission of wrongdoing by the companies.
Legal analysts say the development could increase pressure on the firms to resolve other pending cases involving similar allegations.
The lawsuits are being overseen by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Federal Court in Oakland, California.
The settlement comes amid growing scrutiny of social media platforms over their impact on young users.
In March, a Los Angeles jury reportedly found Meta and Google liable in a case involving claims about the addictive nature of Instagram and YouTube.
During the same period, a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay 375 million dollars in damages in a case alleging that minors were exposed to inappropriate content and online predators.
In addition, more than 30 U.S. states are pursuing separate legal action against Meta over related social media concerns, with that case expected to proceed to trial later this year.
Observers say the latest settlement underscores increasing concerns among educators, parents and policymakers about the influence of social media platforms on the well-being of children and teenagers.
