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A multistate settlement with the owner of Facebook and Instagram will “fundamentally change” the influence of social media on Wisconsin children, the state’s top attorney said Wednesday.
The state could receive up to $313 million from Meta Platforms after the tech giant agreed to a roughly $17.1 billion settlement with states that alleged Facebook and Instagram were harmful for young users and their mental health.
Wisconsin joined the multistate lawsuit in 2023. In total, 47 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories sued Meta and will receive parts of the settlement. Meta has also agreed to make changes to its platforms, including placing time limits for teenage users.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul called it the largest big-tech settlement in history and the largest state consumer protection settlement with a single company since the 1990s, when tobacco companies were forced to pay states for the harm their products caused.
“I think anybody who has kids knows the draw and the allure of these social media platforms,” Kaul said during a press conference Wednesday.
Wisconsin and other states alleged Meta’s platforms caused harm to children’s mental health through comparison with others, bullying, promotion of content about self-harm and eating disorders, and addictive features that caused kids to “doomscroll,” the habit of incessantly reading negative content on social media.
In the lawsuit, Wisconsin specifically argued that Meta violated the state’s “Deceptive Trade Practices Act,” which aims to protect consumers from false or misleading advertisements and representations.
“There are widespread harms that we’ve alleged are linked to these social media platforms and to the addiction of it. We’ve alleged that these companies, that Meta specifically, knew about these harms and yet continued to do what it was doing,” Kaul said. “So this kind of massive settlement amount, as well as these kind of game-changing changes in how these platforms do their business with respect to kids who are online, is going to fundamentally change the … role that social media plays in kids’ lives.”
Wisconsin is guaranteed to receive $219 million from the settlement but could receive up to $313.6 million if other social media companies like Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok agree to similar restrictions that Meta plans to implement. Kaul said the settlement puts other social media companies “on notice.”
“There’s no doubt that this settlement is historic, but it’s also my sincere hope that this is an inflection point,” he said. “Now is the time for (other social media companies) to make the kind of sweeping changes in the name of kid safety online.”
The funding will be paid out to the state in at least 10 installments of $2.1 million each. The first installment will be paid within 30 days, and the remaining installments will be paid each January starting next year.
Kaul said he wants Wisconsin’s share of the money to go toward youth mental health initiatives. Some examples he gave include crisis intervention services, after-school programs, training for medical providers, hiring of digital literacy counselors and mental health grants for school districts.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice has control over how the money is spent, according to the settlement agreement. Kaul, who oversees the agency, said the DOJ will work over the next several weeks with other stakeholders to assess how best to use the money. The settlement agreement stated that at least 50% of a state’s funding must go toward addressing the mental health damages the platforms have caused.
Kaul said that more important than the money are the new restrictions Meta will be required to implement for minors who use Facebook and Instagram, changes he called “groundbreaking.”
These include a two-hour daily limit for both platforms for users ages 13 to 17, as well as mandatory pauses to prevent constant scrolling, and restrictions on usage and push notifications during the evenings and school hours.
Meta will also need to install stronger safeguards against bullying, content about self-harm and eating disorders, and stronger and easier-to-use parental controls. The agreement includes limits on comparison features like beauty filters and visible “like” counts on posts. Children younger than 13 won’t be allowed to use either platform, and Meta will be required to implement a stronger age verification method. Meta is required to make all of these changes within six months.
Olivia Herken is the state government and politics reporter for the Cap Times. Olivia writes about the outcomes of policymaking, such as the effectiveness of state government services, as well as state and federal elections. Email story ideas and tips to oherken@captimes.com.
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