Little Rock, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Arkansas is set to receive $172.4 million as part of a proposed $17.1 billion multistate settlement with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
According to a news release sent by Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office, the agreement resolves lawsuits from 51 attorney generals that allege the tech giant misled the public about the addictive nature of its platform and impact on children’s mental health.
The settlement, which is currently pending court approval, is the largest to date with a major technology company. The litigation began in March 2023, with Arkansas becoming the first state to sue Meta for violations of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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“For years, Meta represented that its platforms posed no risk to the mental health of young people, all while knowing that its algorithms were designed to get kids hooked and to keep them online for as long as possible,” Griffin said in a statement.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee also released a statement in support of the settlement, calling it a necessary step to hold big tech companies accountable for the harm their platforms have caused children.
“I am hopeful other social media companies will follow Meta’s lead accepting responsibility for the harm their platforms have done to kids and begin to right this wrong,” she said.
Beyond the financial payout, the settlement mandates that Meta implements a series of safety features and access restrictions aimed at protecting underage users on Facebook and Instagram. They include:
- Daily Time Limits: A strict two-hour combined daily limit across both platforms, which will remain in effect for the next five years.
- Mandatory Pauses: “Productive Pauses” will interrupt scrolling after 15 minutes of continuous use, and again at the 60- and 90-minute marks.
- Nighttime Blocks: Children’s access to the apps will be entirely restricted from midnight to 6:00 a.m.
- School-Time Restrictions: Push notifications will be disabled on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the school year.
- Feature Limitations: The platforms must limit social comparison tools, including visible “like” counts and beauty filters, which have been linked to poor mental health outcomes.
- Content & Parental Controls: Meta must provide more user-friendly parental controls and enact stronger safeguards against content promoting bullying, self-harm, and eating disorders.
- Age Verification: The company is required to institute more robust age assurance measures to verify young users.
The release stated that compliance and the overall effectiveness of these features will be regularly evaluated by the settling states and an independent auditor.
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