Connecticut part of landmark $18B settlement with Meta
Connecticut is part of a coalition of states that reached a landmark settlement with Meta, including up to $18 billion and a series of changes meant to protect kids.
Attorney General William Tong (D-Connecticut) said the total is the largest settlement for a single defendant in U.S. history.
“We’re making Meta pay,” he said during a press conference in Hartford. “We’re making Meta pay for its misconduct.”
Connecticut will receive between $190 million and $265 million from the settlement, which includes 47 states, Washington, D.C., and a handful of U.S. territories.
The agreement settles multiple state-led lawsuits accusing Meta of ignoring the ways social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among others, are addictive to children.
“Meta, Instagram, Facebook, and its peers in the industry – TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube – have for years stripped mined the souls of America’s children for money,” Tong said.
The company has also faced an onslaught of lawsuits from families claiming Meta’s platforms harmed their children.
Tammy Rodriguez, of Enfield, was successful in her lawsuit this spring, when Meta and YouTube were found liable for the death by suicide of her daughter, Selena.
Rodriguez recalled how Selena showed signs of addiction, including once grabbing and bruising Rodriguez’s shoulder because she refused to give her daughter her phone.
” She was 11, you know,” Rodriguez said. “This is an addiction. It is – they are so brainwashed at this point that we have to pull them out.”
Meta agreed to a number of changes and controls meant to protect users under the age of 18, including:
- A two-hour time limit, unless a parent turns off the restriction;
- A night mode that blocks users from using any Meta apps between midnight and 6 a.m.;
- A school mode that mutes notifications between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.;
- The ability to shut off algorithmic feeds that target users with content and an endless scrolling experience;
- A movie-style rating system that ensures content is age-appropriate;
- Giving teens a private account by default to prevent strangers from sending private messages;
- Tools to try and ensure no users under the age of 13 open an account.
The settlement also calls for an independent auditor to monitor Meta’s compliance.
In its statement, Meta vowed to protect children who use its apps. It also called on some of its top competitors, including TikTok and YouTube, to agree to similar changes.
“While this is an important step, the fact is that teens move fluidly between dozens of apps a day,” Meta said in its statement. “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 terms dictate that 30% of the settlement, or roughly $5.3 billion, is contingent on those companies agreeing to similar terms.
Tong said his focus is on ensuring all social media giants follow the same rules.
“I want to make it clear to TikTok, YouTube and Snap: we are coming,” he said.
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