North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said Thursday the state has received its first $45.2 million payment from Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, as part of a multistate settlement over allegations that the company’s social media platforms harmed children.
The payout is the first installment of a settlement that could bring up to $645 million to the state by 2035. The state is guaranteed at least $451 million, with an additional $194 million available if other major social media companies, including YouTube and TikTok, agree to safety measures.
The state legislature will decide how to spend the money. Jackson has encouraged lawmakers to direct the money toward funding crisis helplines for children and funding after-school and summer programs.
He also suggested using the money to hire additional school health officials amid shortages of counselors, social workers and nurses in North Carolina’s school systems.
Meta to pay North Carolina up to $645 million in landmark settlement
“This settlement is about holding Meta accountable and protecting children,” Jackson said. “Not only does it require Meta to make major safety changes to its platforms, but it brings hundreds of millions of dollars to our state.”
Jackson announced the settlement with Meta in August after North Carolina and 32 other states sued the company in 2023.
The states alleged that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to increase the time children spent on their platforms while downplaying the risks and collecting data from minors without parental consent.
State officials also cited the company’s internal documents and raised concerns about features such as autoplay, push notifications and infinite scrolling, which they said were designed to increase engagement.
The settlement requires Meta to strengthen measures keeping children under 13 off Facebook and Instagram and give parents more control over teen accounts.
Jackson said teens can expect to see several changes to their accounts in the coming months:
- Under the changes, teens will have a new default two-hour daily limit. Once they reach that limit, their accounts will time out, restricting access to their feeds and scrolling. Access to direct messages will still be allowed.
- Meta will also implement an anti-scrolling feature that will pop up every 15 minutes to discourage continuous app usage.
- Feeds will be blocked from midnight to 6 a.m. each night and notifications will be disabled from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Notifications will also automatically turn off on Facebook and Instagram during school hours on weekdays during the school year.
- Like counts and post reactions will be turned off by default, and beauty filters will be removed on the platforms to limit potential harm to children’s self-esteem and self-image.
The remaining payments to the state will be made through the next decade, with installments scheduled each Jan. 15 beginning in 2027.
