Tennessee is set to receive nearly $752 million from Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, as part of a massive multistate legal settlement involving allegations that the social media giant harmed children and misled the public about the safety of its platforms.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced that the state’s share of the settlement will total $751,922,691.13. Nationwide, Meta agreed to pay as much as $17.1 billion, making the agreement one of the largest state consumer-protection settlements involving a technology company.
“We took Meta to trial because Instagram was hurting kids and misleading parents. Now we’re ending the trial with a settlement that imposes unprecedented protections for kids and delivers record-setting money for Tennessee’s Children’s Digital Protection Fund,” Skrmetti said. “The settlement addresses Meta’s role in an industry-wide problem, and now the rest of Big Tech needs to catch up to Meta and implement similar protections,” continued General Skrmetti. “We’re going to make sure they do.”
The settlement resolves legal claims brought by Tennessee and dozens of other states and U.S. territories accusing Meta of designing Instagram and other features in ways that encouraged compulsive use by children and teenagers. State attorneys general alleged that Meta was aware of potential mental-health problems associated with its platforms while failing to adequately disclose those risks to parents and the public. The agreement includes 47 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Tennessee’s nearly $752 million recovery will not simply be deposited into the state’s general fund. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the state’s net proceeds from the settlement will be directed to Tennessee’s newly created Children’s Digital Protection Fund, which is intended to support efforts to protect and restore the mental health and safety of children. Skrmetti described the financial recovery as record-setting for Tennessee and said the settlement was the result of years of investigation, litigation and negotiations involving attorneys general across the country.
The settlement also requires Meta to make significant changes to Instagram and Facebook for younger users. Among the provisions are a combined two-hour daily time limit for young users, mandatory interruptions designed to break up extended scrolling sessions and restrictions on access between midnight and 6 a.m. Tennessee played a prominent role in the litigation, with its case against Meta nearing the end of a trial in Davidson County when the settlement was reached. Skrmetti said the agreement provides both substantial financial compensation for Tennessee and new safeguards aimed at reducing the potential harm social media can cause children.
