UPDATE 1-Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health, court filing shows

​Meta Platforms on Thursday reached ‌a settlement ​in the first case set for trial seeking to make social media companies cover the costs ‌that school districts say they have incurred to combat a mental health crisis allegedly fueled by platforms.

The agreement fully resolves a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district, following ‌earlier settlements by co-defendants Alphabet's YouTube, Snap and TikTok. The case had been ‌scheduled for a June 15 trial in federal court in Oakland, California. "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," said a spokesperson for Meta.

Breathitt County School District, ⁠a small rural district in Appalachia, accused the companies of designing their platforms to keep ​young users hooked, driving anxiety, depression and self-harm among students and leaving ⁠schools to deal with the consequences. Breathitt is among roughly 1,200 school districts pursuing similar claims. Its case ⁠was ​selected as a bellwether, or test case, for those lawsuits.

The lawsuit sought over $60 million to cover the costs of counteracting the impact of social ⁠media on students' mental health and to fund a 15-year mental health program to ⁠abate the problem. ⁠It also sought a court order requiring the companies to modify their platforms to reduce addictive features.

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