(The Center Square) – Georgia will receive between $100 million and $135 million from a $17.1 billion settlement with Meta Platforms announced Wednesday, Attorney General Chris Carr said.
Forty-seven states, Washington, D.C. and three territories were involved in various levels of litigation against the tech platform over claims that the company designed Instagram with features that were addictive to children.
In addition to the financial settlement, Meta has agreed to block access for children between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. and to limit school-time access on its Instagram and Facebook platforms, according to information from Carr’s office. The company will also add stronger verification measures and parental controls.
Carr said Meta is not the only social media platform that needs to address online safety for children.
“For years, we pushed major social media platforms to implement critical safeguards that protect our kids online, and that’s exactly what this outcome helps to accomplish,” said Carr. “This is a landmark agreement that sets the standard for future cases, and while Meta is the first to come to the table, they shouldn’t be the last. It shouldn’t take lawsuits, legislation or investigations to do the right thing.”
Meta called out platforms TikTok and YouTube to also add stronger child safety protections.
“While this is an important step, the fact is that teens move fluidly between dozens of apps a day,” the company said in a post on its website. “All platforms should empower parents and support teens by putting the same measures in place, because we know that when teens are restricted on one app, they simply move to another.”
The money will go to the state treasury, where it will be spent through the appropriations process, a spokeswoman for Carr’s office told The Center Square.
The agreement is the largest consumer-protection settlement, aside from the Big Tobacco settlements reached with tobacco companies in the 1990s, according to Carr. It also resolves legal action against Meta for sharing nonpublic Facebook information with third parties.
