Utah announced Wednesday that the state has secured part of a $12.2 billion settlement with Meta over child safety practices.
This marks the most substantive action taken against the addictive algorithms targeted at young people. The settlement must still be approved by a judge.
“For the first time, Meta must put kids’ safety ahead of its business model,” said Utah Attorney General Derek Brown. “This gives Utah families a leg up in protecting their kids from harmful content and compulsive habits with Instagram and Facebook.”
Meta — the company that owns Facebook and Instagram — reached a landmark settlement with 47 states, the District of Colombia and U.S. territories, agreeing to pay the $12.2 billion. Utah is expected to receive $212 million over the next 10 years, the Governor’s Office said in a press release early Wednesday.
In an interview with the Deseret News, Brown said part of the money will need to go toward addressing damages that could have been caused by the company.
“I will make sure personally that I advocate that however that money is spent, that it targets things like mental health and the issues that help address the mental harms that have been caused by social media addictions,” he said.
Though, he argues that the money was never the point in the first place, saying it was about “fundamentally changing an industry that protects our kids.”
The settlement, subject to court approval, guarantees the $12.2 billion from Meta, though they could pay up to $17.1 billion if Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube agree to substantially similar injunctive terms.
C.J. Mahoney, chief legal officer at Meta, said the new guidelines “will only work if all our peers join us.”
“Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industrywide solution. We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework, right away,” he said.
Brown said he hopes the other companies, rather than risk going to trial, will settle as Meta did.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to use this as a blueprint to not just change how it is that Meta operates, but as a way of encouraging every other major social media company on the planet to do the same thing,” he said.
The case, said Brown, has been in the works for years, and has included thousands of hours of work.
On Oct. 24, 2023, the Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection filed its complaint against Meta.
The claims alleged that Meta designed Instagram with addictive features — including algorithms, push notifications and limited content controls — which knowingly led to serious mental health harms for young users.
“More than three years ago, I said that without strong action, social media companies would not make the changes necessary to protect our children,” said Gov. Spencer Cox. “Today’s historic settlement proves both the urgency of that warning and what determined state action can accomplish.”
Consumer Protection Director Katherine Hass led the effort, along with team members from the Office of the Attorney General.
The settlement reached Wednesday requires Meta to implement a series of safety features on Instagram and Facebook, including age assurance measures, daily time limits and more — striking the heart of the company’s business model. The implementation and efficacy of the features will be regularly assessed by an independent auditor and the settling states.
“This settlement has teeth,” explained Brown, who believes the changes will hold long-term.
“When you have court supervision by a federal court, you don’t disobey a court order,” he said. “We have all of the confidence in the world that they (Meta) are going to comply.”
The settlement also resolves the states’ claims regarding a breach of privacy laws — including Meta’s sharing of Facebook users’ nonpublic information with third parties.
“These unprecedented reforms will help protect millions of children, and they make clear that Meta could have chosen to implement these changes and protect children all along,” said Cox. “We will hold Meta to every promise it has made, and we will continue fighting to ensure every platform puts the well-being of children ahead of profit.”
The agreement could mark a turning point for reform in the social media industry, which has long escaped intense scrutiny for child protection laws.
“While these are the most comprehensive youth-safety changes ever secured from Instagram and Facebook, state leaders urge parents to proceed with caution,” said the Governor’s Office press release. “Utah advises parents to delay introducing social media as long as possible, take advantage of new safety features under parental supervision, and continue to have open dialogue with their children about the risks of excessive social media use.”
Brown agreed: “Parents will still have a major role to play,” he said.
“This does not take away the parents’ responsibility to still monitor the social media usage of their kids.”