A school district in Kentucky, United States has secured about $27 million in settlements from major social media companies over allegations that their platforms contributed to a student mental health crisis.

The settlements were reached by the Breathitt County School District, which sued several technology firms, alleging that their platforms were intentionally designed to keep young users engaged, leading to increased levels of anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges among students, according to records obtained by Reuters.

Meta Platforms agreed to pay $9 million, the largest individual settlement, on May 21, just weeks before a trial scheduled for June.

Other defendants had previously settled, with TikTok parent ByteDance and Snap each paying $8 million, while YouTube parent Alphabet agreed to pay $2.01 million.

The financial details of the agreements had not been publicly disclosed in court filings before Reuters obtained copies through a public records request.

The companies have consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that they have implemented extensive measures to protect teenagers and younger users on their platforms.

When the settlements were announced, Meta, Snap and YouTube said the disputes had been resolved amicably.

Lawyers representing the school district said their attention has now shifted to pursuing similar lawsuits filed by about 1,200 other school districts across the United States.

The Breathitt County School District, located in rural Appalachia, argued that schools were left to manage the consequences of the mental health issues allegedly linked to excessive social media use among students.

The Breathitt County case was expected to be the first of the school districts’ lawsuits, consolidated in federal court in California, to proceed to trial.

It was widely regarded as a bellwether case that could provide an early indication of how courts might assess the districts’ claims in the broader litigation.

Bellwether trials are often used by judges and litigants to gauge the potential value of similar claims and help shape settlement negotiations.

Although Breathitt County is a relatively small district serving about 1,600 students across six schools, according to federal data, the litigation also involves several much larger school districts.