Massachusetts to receive $366M in Meta settlement, doctor calls it "just the beginning"
Massachusetts is set to receive at least $366 million as part of a landmark $17.1 billion settlement between states and Meta geared toward addressing concerns about the effects of social media on children and teenagers.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the agreement, which resolves claims that Meta's social media platforms harmed young users. The settlement also establishes new safeguards designed to limit access to the company's social media platforms and reduce potentially harmful use.
"Excessive use of social media can have real consequences on our young people's well-being," said Campbell.
Much of the money coming to Massachusetts will be directed toward addressing youth mental health concerns and improving safer technology infrastructure in schools, according to the attorney general's office.
"These are not simply promises to do better," she said. "These are changes to the products themselves to start to make things safer for our kids online."
Under the new framework, children younger than 13 will not be allowed to use Instagram or Facebook. Meta said it will not use photo identification to verify users' ages, instead relying on data it has collected to estimate age.
The settlement also includes restrictions for teenagers ages 13 to 18. Their use of Meta's social media platforms will be limited to 120 minutes per day. Access will be blocked between midnight and 6 a.m., while notifications will be silenced from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Notifications will also be silenced during school hours on Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dr. Neha Sharma, head of child and adolescent psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center, said research has shown that consistent, continuous access to social media can negatively affect young people.
"Overall, the data shows that kids who have consistent and continuous access to social media tend to do worse and have more depressive and anxious experiences and tend to have more issues around their physical appearance," Sharma said.
Sharma said she believes the settlement could be the beginning of broader regulations governing social media companies and their impact on children and teenagers.
Dr. Sharma said she hopes the changes will give parents more control over their children's online activity and lead to additional protections.
"I do hope that this will help, but I also hope that this will empower parents to have more control and help them to push it further," Sharma said. "I think it's just the beginning."
The settlement also plans on restricting the types of filters that teens can use. Meta will be restricting access to filters that mimic cosmetic surgeries.
