Delaware will receive up to $103 million from Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – to settle a multistate lawsuit.
As part of the settlement – which still needs final federal court approval – Delaware will receive a guaranteed $73.6 million over the next 10 years starting with an $11 million payment this year.
Delaware will receive an additional $30 million if other social media platforms – specifically TikTok and YouTube – reach similar agreements with the states.
The total settlement calls for Meta to pay $17 billion in penalties to the states involved over 10 years
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings says the money received will benefit young people in the state.
“Half of the monetary payments from Meta, which could be just under $50 million to settle this lawsuit, will be administered by the governor in consultation with my office to support teen health and safety directly,” said Jennings.
She notes some money will go towards at-risk youth and to the Delaware Consumer Protection Fund to help enforce the law against businesses and scammers that target the youth.
Meta must also implement safety features as part of the settlement to protect children on Instagram and Facebook.
“Limiting the amount of time kids are spending on these apps, there will be a hard cap daily time limit and “productive pauses,” for children,” said Jennings. “For its two platforms, Instagram and Facebook, a combined two hour daily time limit with mandatory pauses after 15 minutes of continuous use and again at 60 and 90 minutes to interrupt endless scrolling.”
The limits will be in effect for five years, and if Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt similar terms the daily limit on platforms will drop to 60 minutes for 10 years.
Other safeguards include nighttime blocks from 12 am to 6 am, limited school-time access, robust age assurance measures, stronger and more user-friendly parental controls and limits on social comparison features.
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