Dear Clients,
We write to share a positive development in the school district social media litigation. The Breathitt County, Kentucky school district—the first federal court school district bellwether case—has accepted a settlement offer from Google/YouTube, Snap, and TikTok. Meta has not settled and remains set for trial beginning on June 12.
This is encouraging news, but it is important to keep it in perspective. This settlement involves one school district only. It is not a global settlement, and it does not resolve the claims of other school districts participating in the litigation.
That said, the fact that three major defendants chose to settle the first school district bellwether case is a very positive sign. Bellwether cases are designed to test the strength and value of claims, and settlements like this help build pressure toward broader resolution. We do not currently know how much each defendant settled for, but we expect this may become known as the formal approval proceeds through the Breathitt Board of Trustees and it will be an important datapoint.
Also, the Senate Judiciary Committee has called on the executives of major social media companies to testify before the panel next month regarding child online safety. Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, sent letters to the heads of Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok earlier this month seeking attendance at a hearing on June 23 titled, “Examining Tech Industry Practices and the Implications for Users and Families: Is This Social Media’s Big Tobacco Moment?”
More trials, continued litigation pressure, and additional work will likely be necessary before any potential global settlement may be achieved. We will continue to soldier on and note the upcoming trial against Meta beginning on June 12 will be instructive.
