Vermont’s attorney general says the state will receive a historic settlement from a multi-state lawsuit against the social media company Meta.
A bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general announced a 17.1 billion dollar settlement with Meta Wednesday.
In 2023, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark joined 47 other states and territories in a lawsuit that claimed Meta’s social media platform Instagram knowingly programmed addictive features that cause serious mental health harm to youth.
"Here in Vermont, the financial part of the settlement is an historic $92.7 million. This is the largest single company settlement in state of Vermont history. Nationally the settlement is potentially up to $17 billion.”
Under the settlement, Meta must place time limits for children on the use of Instagram and Facebook and block youth access from midnight until 6 a.m. It also includes limiting access during school hours and creating stronger parental controls.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also welcomed the settlement, saying children in New York are "suffering while companies like Meta reap immense profits by intentionally addicting them to their social media platforms."
Also among the coalition was Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.
"We took on Meta because the company chose to put profits ahead of the wellbeing of young people," Campbell said.
