Virginia attorney general says $17B Meta settlement will keep children safe on Facebook and Instagram

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones says a $17 billion settlement with Meta represents a massive win for Virginians after five years of work to hold the social media giant accountable for exposing minors to potentially harmful content on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

The agreement, announced Wednesday, resolves claims by 47 states and U.S. territories that Meta knowingly designed its social media platforms with addictive features, exposed young users to serious mental harms, and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platforms.

Jones said the settlement will fundamentally change how Meta operates.

"From top to bottom this is sort of a real change in how Meta has done business and it's going to fundamentally shift the way that they've operated and I really do think that these reforms which people have been pushing for a long time really will keep our children safe."

Of the $17 billion settlement, Jones says Virginia will receive about $353 million to fund programs that teach media literacy to children and young adults and enforcement features designed to limit access to the platform to protect children.

New platform features included in the settlement include a night mode that blocks users under 18 from accessing Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 a.m., and a school mode that creates similar restrictions for users under 18 during school hours.

Jones described the framework the settlement puts in place.

"To have the framework in place to make sure we hold Meta accountable that their making changes, time restriction for children increased controls for parents, making sure that they're not being fed toxic information that's going to make them spiral out of control from a mental health perspective."

"This is again a very a momentous moment for Virginia and we're very excited about it."

Part of the $353 million Virginia is receiving will also be used to limit the ability of users under 18 to create secondary fake accounts to bypass platform limitations. The settlement also includes an independent monitor to ensure Meta is complying with the agreement.

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