NORTH CAROLINA — Meta will have to pay hundreds of millions to North Carolina and implement new safety measures for its young social media users due to a lawsuit settlement that tops out at $17 billion nationwide. The lawsuit filed alleges the company targeted youth in order to “hook” them on their social media platforms, causing harm to their mental health.
In October, 2023, North Carolina joined 32 other states to sue Meta in federal court, under then-Attorney General Josh Stein. Current Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 51 bipartisan attorneys general announced the agreement Wednesday, Aug. 26.
Meta was accused of violating state consumer protection laws by downplaying Instagram’s and Facebook’s risks to young users, as well as designing these platforms to increase the amount of time people spent on them. Through notifications popping up frequently and lack of parental controlled settings, Meta was accused of exploiting young users to grow its base and expand business on its apps.
Allegedly, Meta also collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.
Meta will pay the first installment of $431 million in 30 days from court approval by U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, and there will be 10 installment payments made over eight years, due every January. Meta will also pay an additional $194 million to North Carolina and implement more time limitations for teenage users when an industry-wide adoption of protections has been accomplished by the states — it makes the grand total $645 million.
In addition to the money, Jackson stated as part of the lawsuit’s settlement: “Meta has to change features and hand parents the controls.”
Meta will implement a child safety upgrade to confirm a users’ age, with the goal of keeping children younger than 13 off its numerous social media platforms. Meta also will include default time limits for children 13-17 years old, to allow parents to adjust the platforms’ settings.
Within the next three to six months, Meta also will have new features beneficial to mental health. Daily time limits will be set, only allowing teens to have access to their accounts for two hours daily. Teens will receive pop-up notifications every 15 minutes discouraging ongoing use on the apps.
Furthermore, there will be a block from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. each night, disabling teen’s access to scroll or access feeds, in hopes of protecting their sleep schedule. Notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. also will not come through. Weekdays from Aug. 15 to June 15, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., will automatically silence notifications.
In an attempt to prevent further mental health issues surrounding social media, Meta will disable like-count and reactions on all posts, stories, and reels. Lastly, Meta will implement the removal of filters that mimic cosmetic surgery and extreme changes to someone’s body.
According to Jackson, he is encouraging the General Assembly in North Carolina to use these funds towards afterschool and summer school programs, crisis helplines for struggling children, and school health personnel, to help kids feel safe and supported both inside and outside of school.
“This is about protecting kids and empowering parents,” Jackson said in a release.
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