Significant changes are coming to the Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram after the company agreed to the multi-billion dollar settlement of a nationwide lawsuit that claimed it violated federal and state child privacy laws.
After a weeklong trial in Oakland, California, Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement while also denying any wrongdoing. Washington joined with 46 other states in the lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2023. Washington will receive $227 million of the settlement over 10 years to protect children’s mental health. The states’ attorneys general claimed Meta knew that 11- and 12-year-old children were on its platforms, designed features that were addictive and mentally damaging to that age group and did little to enforce limits. In most states, including Washington, Meta users need to be at least 13 years old.
The states’ case was built on internal Meta employee communications that they say showed the tech giant targeted young users — communications that went all the way to Meta President Mark Zuckerberg.
Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said the harm done by platforms like Instagram and Facebook has taken away things that used to be normal for kids.
"Social media companies have stolen countless hours of our kids’ lives, crowding out sleep and exercise, in-person connection and learning at school,” Brown said. “These platforms have exposed our children to explicit content, allowing them to be contacted and harmed by adults."
The settlement includes limits on the time children spend on social media, curbs push notifications during normal school hours and makes it harder for kids to lie about their age in order to sign up for an account.
In a statement Wednesday, Meta framed the settlement as a partnership with the state attorneys general, saying in part, “Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta. We want to get this right for parents and teens.”
In its settlement, Meta said it would offer an additional $5 billion in damages if the owners of YouTube and TikTok implement similar restrictions. That could result in an additional $112 million for Washington state.
Brown’s office issued a statement that acknowledged Meta is the first major social media platform to issue “a comprehensive resolution on youth safety.”
Still, Brown had more pointed words during a Wednesday press briefing, saying that he had been working with the state Legislature to pass the Protect Washington Children Online Act, "but Meta pushed back hard, claiming to legislators and leaders that the changes and reforms that we sought were impossible. But this settlement proves that was a lie."
The Washington state Legislature will decide exactly how to spend the settlement money as it is received over the coming decade.
