Idaho to get $89.2M in landmark Meta settlement
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — Idaho will receive between $89.2 million and $127.7 million as part of a landmark multistate settlement with Meta valued at up to $18 billion. The agreement resolves claims from 47 states, the District of Columbia and multiple U.S. territories alleging the company intentionally designed Instagram and Facebook with addictive features that harmed young users' mental health.
The settlement follows a bipartisan, nationwide investigation launched in 2021 by attorneys general into social media industry practices targeting children and teens. Investigators found that Meta engineered platform features to hook young users while internally documenting the resulting mental health harms and failing to warn parents. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced the state's payout allocation after the trial, which began in federal court on Aug. 18, reached a resolution mid-trial.
Labrador emphasized his office's commitment to holding tech companies accountable for product design. “Protecting children in Idaho is one of the most critical responsibilities of my office,” Labrador said. “Intentionally engineering any product to addict children is unconscionable. Meta's design was a cynical attempt to create a lifetime user, regardless of the psychological damage and harm our children were exposed to. When this trial began, I said we would hold Meta accountable and today I've kept that promise.”
Under the terms of the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Meta will pay 70% of the settlement fund to states in annual installments over the next decade. The remaining 30% is contingent on whether competing platforms YouTube and TikTok agree to make similar financial payments and app modifications.
The agreement mandates sweeping safety adjustments for users ages 13 to 17 across Instagram and Facebook. Meta must enforce a cumulative two-hour daily time limit with mandatory pauses after 15 minutes of continuous use, as well as additional pauses at 60 and 90 minutes.
Platforms must also institute a nighttime block restricting access from midnight to 6 a.m. and a school mode that mutes push notifications on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the school year.
Additional mandated features include hiding visible like and reaction counts on posts by minors, blocking cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters and expanding age assurance tools to verify young users.
Meta must also strengthen parental controls and provide content safeguards against bullying, content promoting eating disorders and content related to suicide and self-harm.
Meta did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the agreement and has long denied that its platforms harm children. The company stated in a blog post that ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience is an absolute imperative, adding that it partnered with state attorneys general to establish a new industry standard.
Legal experts and youth safety advocates offered varying perspectives on the resolution. Matthew Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, called the agreement a “watershed moment in holding the tech giant accountable for designing products it knew were harming children and fueling a nationwide youth mental health crisis.”
Meanwhile, Maurine Molak, co-founder of ParentsSOS, called for broader legislative action across the entire industry. “We need a duty of care to ensure that Meta stops designing for addiction both now and in the future and that our children are protected no matter what platform they use,” Molak said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that the required platform changes are expected to go into effect within months. Both the implementation and ongoing efficacy of the new safety features will be regularly evaluated by an independent auditor and the settling states.
Editor’s Note: This story was adapted from an original on-air broadcast report with the assistance of AI. All content is thoroughly reviewed and verified for accuracy by the Local News 8 editorial team.
