SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Meta and dozens of states nationwide, including Utah, agreed to settle its lawsuit over child safety practices on Instagram and Facebook, state officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The Utah Governor’s Office said the settlement included $212 million to be paid to Utah over the next ten years and would force Meta into making sweeping changes into how its social media platforms are built for children and teens.
The settlement resolves claims brought forward by Utah and 46 other states that claim Meta designed Instagram and Facebook with addictive features. The states claimed that Meta knew about harmful affects, such as mental health harms, caused by its platforms and misled the public about the safety.
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“More than three years ago, I said that without strong action, social media companies would not make the changes necessary to protect our children,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “Today’s historic settlement proves both the urgency of that warning and what determined state action can accomplish.”
Under the settlement agreement, Meta would be required to implement robust age assurance measures to verify the age of young users. The company would also be required to implement a two-hour daily time limit across Instagram and Facebook with mandatory breaks after 15, 60, and 90 minutes of continuous use.
Other changes include nighttime blocks for children’s accounts, banning push notifications at night and during normal school hours, non-personalized algorithmic feeds, content controls with stronger safeguards against bullying, stronger parental controls, and limits on features linked to poor mental health such as beauty features and visible “like” counts.
Gov. Cox added that the social media reforms are expected to protect millions of children and make clear that “Meta could have chosen to implement these changes and protect children all along.”
“We will hold Meta to every promise it has made, and we will continue fighting to ensure every platform puts the well-being of children ahead of profit,” said Cox.
According to state officials, states nationwide could receive up to $17.1 billion, should other social media companies such as Snap, TikTok and YouTube agree to similar settlement terms.
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