MADISON, Wis. — A Madison mom and parent advocate is calling a $17.1 billion settlement with Meta a step in the right direction as the company faces new requirements aimed at protecting children and teens on social media.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, reached the settlement Wednesday with multiple states over allegations that it designed its platforms to be addictive to young users.
Wisconsin is expected to receive at least $219 million, with that amount potentially increasing to $313 million if certain conditions are met.
Amy Mortino, a Madison mother and member of Parent Check on Tech, said the settlement is significant because parents and schools have largely been responsible for managing the effects of social media on kids.
“I cannot even imagine what it would be like to be a kid with a cell phone right now,” Mortino said.
The settlement will require Meta to implement new restrictions for users ages 13 to 17, including a combined two-hour daily limit on Facebook and Instagram and mandatory breaks designed to interrupt extended scrolling.
The platforms will also restrict access from midnight to 6 a.m. and eliminate push notifications on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the school year.
Other changes include stronger age verification, parental controls and age-appropriate content controls. Meta will also have to limit some beauty filters and visible “like” counts.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said he wants Wisconsin’s settlement money to go toward youth mental health, digital wellness, after-school programming and grants for school districts.
But UW-Madison professor Heather Kirkorian said there are still questions about how the new requirements will work in practice.
“I’m also really curious how it will be implemented, because some of the things they want to do will be really hard to do,” Kirkorian said.
She said age verification could be particularly difficult, noting that kids and teens have historically found ways around those restrictions.
Kirkorian also cautioned that social media is only one factor affecting children’s mental health.
“Mental health is a very complex issue, and lots of things have a bigger impact than social media,” she said.
Mortino said she hopes some of Wisconsin’s settlement money can also help schools implement stronger phone policies, including covering costs for phone storage and additional behavioral and mental health support.
The settlement is expected to bring Wisconsin its share of the money over time as Meta begins implementing the new requirements.
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