WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Wednesday that the state will receive at least $219 million — and potentially up to $313 million — as part of a $17.1 billion national settlement with Meta Platforms over allegations the company harmed youth mental health.
The settlement, reached by Wisconsin and a coalition of state attorneys general, is the largest big tech settlement in U.S. history and the largest single-company state consumer protection settlement ever, outside of tobacco cases.
Kaul said the Wisconsin Department of Justice will determine how the funds are allocated, subject to settlement conditions requiring at least 50% of the money go toward addressing social media-related harms.
Potential uses include youth mental health programming, crisis intervention services, grants to school districts, after-school programming, digital wellness initiatives and training for medical providers.
As part of the agreement, Meta is required to implement new safety features for users under 18 on Instagram and Facebook, including a combined two-hour daily limit, mandatory usage pauses, restrictions on nighttime and school-hour access, stronger age verification, enhanced parental controls and limits on social comparison features such as beauty filters and visible like counts. Most changes are expected to take effect within six months of the judgment.
The coalition alleged Meta knowingly designed its platforms to addict children and teens, concealed resulting psychological harms, allowed children under 13 on its platforms and collected their data without parental consent. Meta also allegedly described young users as a "valuable but untapped" user base.
Attorney General Kaul said the investigation is not limited to Meta, warning that TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are also under scrutiny and "on notice" that similar legal action could follow.
