Meta will pay D.C. between $90 million and $130 million as part of a settlement agreement to resolve a large, multistate lawsuit over claims the company’s platforms endangered children’s mental health.
The sweeping settlement touches 47 states, along with D.C., Puerto Rico and American Samoa. The tech company has agreed to pay $12 billion to the plaintiffs, but that number could rise to $17.1 billion if other tech companies — Snap, TikTok and YouTube — also reach similar legal agreements with the jurisdictions and agree to change their products.
The dollar amount is among the highest a tech company has paid to states — and the product changes Meta agreed to as part of the settlement will “fundamentally and immediately change how young people use Instagram and Facebook,” D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said in a news release Wednesday.