North Carolina gets first $45.2M payout from Meta child safety settlement | #childsafety | #kids | #chldern | #parents | #schoolsafey

North Carolina has received its first payment from a multistate child safety settlement with Meta, totaling $45,167,732, according to Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office.Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, will pay up to $17.1 billion to participating states under the agreement. North Carolina is expected to receive up to $645 million, with a guaranteed minimum of $451 million. The remaining money will be paid in nine installments through 2035. Jackson’s office said Meta will make those payments each Jan. 15, beginning in January 2027.Jackson’s office described the agreement as the largest big tech settlement in history.

This settlement is about holding Meta accountable and protecting children,” Jackson said. “Not only does it require Meta to make major safety changes to its platforms, but it brings hundreds of millions of dollars to our state.

How North Carolina uses the settlement money will be determined through legislation enacted by the General Assembly. Jackson has encouraged lawmakers to direct the money toward after-school and summer programs, crisis helplines for children and school health personnel.North Carolina and 32 other states sued Meta in 2023. The states alleged the company violated consumer protection laws by designing Facebook and Instagram to increase children’s use of the platforms while downplaying potential risks. Jackson announced the settlement in August, and a judge approved it hours later.Under the agreement, Meta must make changes intended to keep children under 13 off its platforms, strengthen default protections for teenagers and give parents more control over their children’s accounts. Teen users are expected to begin seeing changes within a few months.Those changes include:Daily time limits: Teen accounts will be limited to two hours of access each day. After reaching the limit, teenagers will be unable to scroll or access their feeds but may continue using direct messages.Nighttime blocks: Feeds will be inaccessible from midnight to 6 a.m., and notifications will be disabled from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.School-hour notification limits: Non-messaging notifications will be turned off from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays between Aug. 15 and June 15.Scrolling pauses: Pop-up reminders will appear after every 15 minutes of continuous use, with stronger pauses after 60 and 90 minutes.Hidden reaction counts: Counts for likes and other reactions will be turned off by default on posts, stories and reels viewed by teenagers.Beauty filter restrictions: Meta will prohibit filters that imitate cosmetic surgery or alter a person’s body.Jackson said the settlement money should be used to benefit children because they were the group affected by the conduct alleged in the states’ lawsuit.

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