Florida will not accept the multi-billion-dollar settlement agreement between Meta and other states over teen social media addiction.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, agreed to a $17 billion settlement with 47 states.
However, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called the settlement a “weak payoff attempt” in a post on X.com.
Florida didn’t join the Meta settlement. The payouts are peanuts compared to the profound harms Meta’s profit-driven addictive features inflicted on kids, and a slap on the wrist for a trillion-dollar corp that’ll pay more to lawyers than to the states.
We’ll see them at trial. https://t.co/2YIp6IwMSV
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) August 26, 2026
In a broader statement to News 6, Uthmeier also called the settlement a slap on the wrist:
“Florida did not join the settlement with Meta. The payouts to the states are peanuts compared to the profound harms Meta’s profit-driven addictive features have inflicted on our children. This agreement is nothing more than a slap on the wrist for a trillion-dollar corporation that has already paid more to its lawyers than it will pay the states. We’ll see them at trial.”
The settlement ends a landmark trial that accuses the tech giant of using features on its platforms designed to get people hooked on the platforms, particularly young people.
“For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health,” Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said. The settlement ”will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm.”
The case also argued that Meta violated federal laws by routinely collecting data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent.
As part of the settlement, Meta must also adopt a series of safety features.
They include:
- A “hard cap” on daily time limits and pauses for minors
- Eliminates push notifications during weekday school hours
- “Robust” age-assurance measures and “age-appropriate” content controls to prevent bullying and harmful materials about things like eating disorders and self-harm.
- Stronger and more user-friendly parental controls
- Limits on social comparison features such as “like” counts
- Independent auditor to assess how Meta is implementing the safety features
Meta is supposed to pay out the settlement over 10 years. However, the company says it will withhold about $5.3 billion of that money unless YouTube and TikTok also implement similar safety features.
The federal lawsuit was the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont. It followed newspaper reports, first by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, that found that the company knew about the harm Instagram can cause teenagers — especially teen girls — when it comes to mental health and body image issues.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.