State Of New Hampshire Could Receive $224M Across A Decade After Meta Child Safety Lawsuit Settlement

CONCORD, NH — The state of New Hampshire could receive up to $224,344,141 under a proposed $17.1 billion multistate settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc., Gov. Kelly A. Ayotte and Attorney General John M. Formella announced Wednesday.

The agreement also requires Meta to add new child safety features on Instagram and Facebook. The parties have agreed to the settlement terms, but they remain subject to court approval.

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The settlement resolves claims by 47 other states and D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as New Hampshire's individual case. The claims alleged Meta designed Instagram and Facebook with addictive features, exposed young users to serious mental harms, and misled the public about platform safety. The settlement also resolves states' claims tied to Meta's sharing of nonpublic information about Facebook users with third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, leading up to the 2016 election.

"Nothing is more critical than protecting our children, and social media companies have fallen short of that mission," Ayotte said. "With this settlement, we are taking an important step to hold them accountable and ensuring parents have the tools they need to keep their children safe online and safeguard children's mental health. I thank Attorney General Formella, the team at the New Hampshire Department of Justice who worked tirelessly on this case, and attorneys general across the country for demanding accountability from Meta and other social media platforms. We will ensure these dollars are used to continue efforts to protect children and support youth mental health services in our state, and we'll continue holding social media companies' feet to the fire to ensure they do their part."

The proposed terms include a combined default two-hour daily time limit for children across Instagram and Facebook, with mandatory pauses after 15 minutes of continuous use and again at 60 and 90 minutes. It would also add default nighttime blocks from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., limit weekday push notifications from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the school year, require age assurance measures, and expand parental controls and content controls involving bullying, eating disorders, suicide, and self-harm.

An independent auditor and the settling states would regularly assess both implementation and effectiveness.

"Children, young adults, and parents are no match for the powerful technological tools and design choices that Meta utilizes to keep kids on its platforms at all hours of the day and night," Formella said. "Though Meta has a history of making cosmetic safety changes, we have strived to ensure that the new default settings offered are meaningful, enforceable reforms that children will not be able to circumvent as easily as they have in the past."

Seventy percent of the money due to New Hampshire, about $158 million, is guaranteed.

The remaining amount depends on whether Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube become subject to certain injunctive and monetary terms within a specified period.

The statewide investigation began in 2021, and New Hampshire was among a small number of states that sued Meta in its own state court before reaching this proposed settlement.

The New Hampshire Department of Justice Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau investigates unfair, deceptive, or unreasonable practices involving New Hampshire consumers.

To file a complaint with the New Hampshire Department of Justice, visit https://www.doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints.

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