A bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general has reached a landmark settlement with Meta that will change how young users interact with Instagram and Facebook. The settlement amounts to $17.1 billion and also requires Meta to take steps to verify the ages of its users and restrict time minors can spend on its platforms to a maximum of two hours per day. Meta will also restrict minors from accessing its platforms at night and prevent notifications from being sent to minors during school hours and in the evening. New York will receive between $819 million and $1.15 billion in the settlement, according to State Attorney General Letitia James. She says the funds are intended for a variety of educational and mental health services for young people to repair the harms of unhealthy social media use and prevent future damage. James was one of 33 attorneys general who sued Meta in 2023, alleging that it designed and implemented features it knew to be harmful to children and teens in order to maximize their time on its social media platforms.
