MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBMA) — A landmark multistate settlement with Meta Platforms will bring more than $117 million to Alabama while requiring sweeping changes to how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook.
The agreement resolves claims brought by 47 states, along with the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories, alleging Meta designed Instagram with addictive features, exposed young users to serious mental health harms and misled the public about the safety of its platforms. Nationwide, the settlement totals $17.1 billion, according to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.
For Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office, however, the changes required of Meta could prove more significant than the money.
“But obviously, our emphasis, more than the financial outcome, is the injunctive relief that we were able to get,” Chief Counsel Catherine Robertson said. “And that’s why it helps when a bunch of states band together to go up against a big company like Meta. Obviously, your negotiating power is much stronger when you’re all working together.”
Under the agreement, teen users will be limited to a combined two hours per day on Instagram and Facebook. Meta must also implement mandatory “productive pauses” after periods of continuous use and, by default, block teen access to the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. Push notifications will also be restricted during overnight and school hours.
The settlement also requires stronger age-assurance measures, expanded parental controls and additional safeguards intended to limit young users’ exposure to bullying and content involving eating disorders, suicide and self-harm. Certain social-comparison features, including cosmetic procedure filters and visible like counts, will also face restrictions.
Robertson said the state’s investigation focused in part on features officials believe encourage young users to remain on the platforms.
“What we have found over the course of investigating a lot of these companies is that they are designed to be addictive, particularly for young people,” Robertson said. “And there’s all sorts of toggles within their social media platform that make it harder for kids to put their phones down, be that during school or while they should be sleeping.”
The settlement also creates the possibility of additional restrictions if similar standards spread across the industry.
Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are specifically identified in the agreement as “Core Industry Members.” If all three become subject to comparable time-management and age-assurance requirements, through enforceable agreements, laws or qualifying voluntary action, Meta would move from a combined two-hour limit for Facebook and Instagram to separate one-hour daily limits for each platform.
Robertson said the Attorney General’s Office hopes the settlement pushes other social media companies to make similar changes.
“And so we expect that other companies are going to be paying very close attention, not just to the money here, but to the settlement terms because they’re gonna be next if they don’t jump on board and start trying to do their part to help our youth,” Robertson said.
Some people in Birmingham said they questioned whether companies would make those changes without legal pressure.
“Maybe with some of them but not all of them,” Birmingham resident Terrell Smith said. “But it starts at home too so you can’t just blame the internet companies, it always starts at home.”
The Meta settlement does not end Alabama’s legal push against major technology and social media companies.
Marshall sued TikTok last year, alleging the platform was designed to addict children and that the company misled parents about its safety. The Attorney General’s Office said that case is set for trial in September, potentially making Alabama the first state to take TikTok to trial over those allegations.
The Attorney General’s Office said the Meta case was handled in-house, meaning the entire amount allocated to Alabama will go to the state.
