Meta to give Texas over $1 billion in settlement to protect kids online

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Texas will get more than $1 billion as part of a settlement with Meta to protect children on its platforms.

Wednesday, Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement to resolve claims that it intentionally designed addictive platforms and harmed young people's mental health. The company will also add new safeguards on its platforms.

With more than $1 billion going to Texas, Meta will fund remediation efforts. The money will go into youth mental health services, digital literacy initiatives and schools.

On its platforms, Meta will add a daily two-hour limit for teen users, Paxton said. Children's notifications will be disabled by default during school hours unless a parent changes the setting.

Changes to Meta Platforms for Children

Meta will implement new safeguards on its platforms as part of the settlement.

Teenage users will have a daily two-hour limit, Paxton said. Likes and reactions on posts will be hidden to "limit social comparison."

Children's notifications will be disabled by default during school hours unless a parent changes the setting. The company will introduce a "nighttime access mode" that restricts notifications and other features for children during certain nighttime hours.

Paxton said he's scheduled to go to trial against TikTok in the fall as part of another initiative to protect children online.

"It is my mission to fundamentally change and strengthen the standards for child safety online, and this settlement is a major step forward in the fight to ensure our kids are protected online," said Attorney General Paxton.