DES MOINES — Iowa is set to collect more than $135 million from social-media giant Meta under a landmark multistate settlement that will also force major changes to how Facebook and Instagram treat children and teenagers.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced the settlement Wednesday, calling it a major victory in the state’s fight against Big Tech.
The larger settlement is valued at up to $17.1 billion and resolves claims brought by Iowa, 46 other states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories.
Iowa is guaranteed $126,485,391, which will be paid in 10 installments.
Meta will pay Iowa another $9,186,865 to settle separate claims involving the sharing of private Facebook-user information with third parties.
Together, the two agreements will deliver $135,672,256 to Iowa.
“After today’s win, Iowa children will be safer online,” Bird said.
Bird sued Meta on April 8, alleging the company violated Iowa consumer-protection laws by harming children and misleading the public about the safety of Instagram.
The states accused Meta of knowingly exposing young users to social-media features capable of fueling addiction and serious mental-health problems.
Meta did not admit liability, wrongdoing or violating any law as part of the settlement.
The agreement nevertheless requires the technology giant to overhaul features on Instagram and Facebook used by children.
Young users will face a combined two-hour daily limit across the two platforms, along with mandatory “productive pauses” after 15 minutes of continuous use and again after 60 and 90 minutes.
Those limits will remain in place for five years.
If Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt comparable restrictions, Meta’s limit would fall to 60 minutes on each platform for 10 years.
The settlement will also block children from accessing Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 a.m.
During the school year, Meta must eliminate weekday push notifications to children between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Other required changes include stronger age-verification measures, expanded parental controls and additional protections against bullying and content promoting eating disorders, suicide or self-harm.
Meta must also limit certain beauty filters and visible “like” counts that the states said can contribute to unhealthy social comparisons and mental-health problems among young users.
Independent auditors and the participating states will regularly evaluate whether Meta has properly implemented the required safeguards and whether they are working.
Bird said her office will continue monitoring Meta’s compliance.
“We will audit Meta’s compliance, prosecute online predators and keep our kids safe,” Bird said.
The agreement generally runs for 10 years, although some provisions carry different deadlines. It must be incorporated into court-approved consent judgments before taking effect.
Iowa’s lawsuit was part of a sprawling collection of state cases accusing Meta of designing its products in ways that kept children scrolling while downplaying the potential dangers.
Bird’s office is also pursuing consumer-protection lawsuits involving TikTok and Roblox.