RALEIGH – North Carolina has received $45.2 million from Meta, the first installment of a child-safety settlement that is expected to bring the state at least $451 million through 2035.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office said Thursday that the exact first payment was $45,167,732. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is scheduled to make nine additional payments, with the next installment due Jan. 15, 2027.
The settlement guarantees North Carolina at least $451 million and could bring as much as $645 million. NC Newsline reported that the additional $194 million depends on other major social media companies, including YouTube and TikTok, agreeing to child-safety measures.
The General Assembly must decide through legislation how North Carolina spends the settlement money. Jackson has urged lawmakers to consider after-school and summer school programs, crisis helplines for children, and additional school health personnel. Until legislators act, the payment has reached the state but has not been assigned to those proposed uses.
Because the settlement leaves spending decisions to the General Assembly, the Attorney General’s recommendations are proposals, not enacted allocations. The release did not identify a bill, appropriation schedule or committee action.
North Carolina and 32 other states sued Meta in 2023. The states alleged that the company designed Facebook and Instagram to increase the amount of time children spent on the platforms while downplaying risks. A federal judge approved the settlement in August, putting its payment schedule and platform requirements into effect.
The agreement also requires Meta to make changes intended to protect younger users. The provisions described by the Attorney General’s Office include daily time limits for teen accounts, nighttime blocks on feeds, limits on school-hour notifications, and stronger parental controls. Meta also must take steps to keep children under 13 off its platforms.
The first payment is a new budget consequence of the settlement announced in August. It gives lawmakers an immediate appropriation decision while the remaining installments and platform changes unfold over the next nine years.
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Photo Credit: Photo by Jmturner, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.