By: Richard L. Smith
New Jersey could receive more than $750 million as part of a sweeping multistate settlement with Meta Platforms that would also require major changes to how Facebook and Instagram operate for children and teenagers.
According to a statement released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced that Meta has agreed to a settlement valued at up to $17.1 billion, resolving allegations that the company used addictive features and failed to adequately protect younger users from potential harms associated with its social media platforms.
New Jersey, which co-led the bipartisan multistate effort, is expected to receive at least $525 million and could collect more than $752 million under the agreement, which remains subject to court approval.
The case involves 47 states along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Officials alleged Meta knowingly designed features that encouraged excessive use among children and teenagers while misleading families and the public about risks associated with its platforms.
Beyond the financial settlement, Meta would be required to make significant changes to Instagram and Facebook.
Those protections include a combined two-hour daily usage limit for younger users, automatic breaks after extended periods of continuous use and nighttime restrictions between midnight and 6 a.m.
The agreement also calls for reduced notifications during school hours, stronger age-verification procedures, improved parental controls and additional protections involving bullying, eating-disorder content, suicide and self-harm material.
Certain social-comparison features, including some beauty filters and visible like counts, would also be restricted for younger users. Independent audits would be used to determine whether Meta is properly implementing the required protections.
New Jersey began co-leading the investigation into the social media industry in 2021.
A multistate lawsuit followed in 2023, accusing Meta of designing Instagram and Facebook in ways that encouraged excessive use among young people, including during school hours and late at night.
Under the broader settlement, Meta would pay participating jurisdictions at least $12.1 billion and potentially as much as $17.1 billion.
A separate agreement announced over allegations involving Meta’s sharing of nonpublic Facebook user information with third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, will provide more than $460 million to participating jurisdictions. New Jersey is expected to receive more than $20 million from that settlement as well.
If approved, state officials described the agreements as among the most significant consumer-protection actions ever reached with a social media company.