Wisconsin’s estimated $219 million to $313 million share of a settlement with tech giant Meta over social media damage to children will likely be spent on youth mental health programming and other remediation, according to a report from Wisconsin Public Radio.
The settlement was announced Wednesday after 47 states sued Meta, accusing it of harming children’s mental health by designing social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram to be addictive and concealing health risks from the public.
The $17 billion payout by a single company is second only to settlements reached with tobacco companies for health damage caused by their products.
Under the terms of the settlement, which must still be approved by a federal judge, at least 50% of Wisconsin’s share must be applied to youth mental health, including programs specifically designed to mitigate harm from social media.
