Attorney General Jackson announced the historic settlement with Meta in August (North Carolina Department of Justice).
RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina has received its first installment of $45,167,732 from a historic multibillion-dollar child safety settlement with social media giant Meta, Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced.
The payout is part of a landmark $17.1 billion multi-state agreement—the largest big tech settlement in history—following a 2023 lawsuit filed by North Carolina and 32 other states. The lawsuit accused Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of violating consumer protection laws by intentionally designing its platforms to addict children while downplaying the mental health risks.
North Carolina is projected to receive up to $645 million from the settlement, with a guaranteed minimum of $451 million. The state’s remaining funds will be distributed across nine annual installments every Jan. 15 through 2035, beginning in January 2027.
The state General Assembly will determine how the funds are allocated. Jackson has publicly urged lawmakers to direct the money toward funding after-school and summer programs, emergency youth crisis helplines, and additional school health personnel.
“This settlement is about holding Meta accountable and protecting children,” Jackson said. “Children were the ones harmed by Meta’s actions, and this money should be used to help them.”
Approved by a judge following its announcement in August, the legally binding settlement mandates sweeping automated safety overhauls for teenage users, which are expected to roll out within the coming months.
Under the new default terms, teenagers will face a strict two-hour daily limit on the applications, after which their main feeds will lock. Meta will also implement mandatory nighttime blocks, shutting down main feeds from midnight to 6 a.m., and silencing all notifications between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
To protect classroom focus, non-messenger notifications will be automatically disabled during standard school hours, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays between August and June. The platforms will also introduce automated “scrolling pauses” at 15, 60, and 90 minutes of continuous use.
In an effort to curb toxic social comparison, public “like” and reaction counts will be hidden by default on all teenage accounts. Furthermore, Meta will completely ban extreme digital beauty filters that alter body shapes or mimic cosmetic surgeries.
