Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, agreed to a $17 billion settlement of a lawsuit from a consortium of states that alleged the company’s social media apps were harmful to young people. Wisconsin is expecting to get a share of over $200 million from the settlement.
On the City Cast Madison podcast, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul talks to host Bianca Martin about the historic settlement and what it will mean for the state. He also talks about how his office is tackling PFAS lawsuits and the DOJ’s role in investigating the fatal police shooting of Corey Ruiz. [NPR, WPR, 🎧 City Cast Madison]
Here’s the details on how the settlement came about, and how Wisconsin might spend its share of the money.
💻 ‘Encourage Compulsive Use’
When a consortium of states attorneys general filed suit against Meta, it was compared to a landmark lawsuit filed against tobacco companies in the 1990s. In both cases, the suits alleged the companies knew about the harmful effects of their products and tried to cover the data up.
In the case of Meta, the charge was that the company had designed its apps to “encourage compulsive use” with features like infinite scroll, photo filters, and “like” buttons that helped them become addictive to its users, and particularly young people.
The AGs also said Meta violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering personal data about users under 13 years of age and not seeking parental consent. Meta denied the accusations, saying they were aware of potential risks to minors and made efforts to address them. [NPR]
💰 High Stakes
Initial estimates were that Meta could have incurred $1.4 trillion in penalties – roughly its entire worth on NASDAQ. While the $17 billion (released over 10 years) might seem like a lot of money, Meta reported over $200 billion in earnings in 2025.
In addition to the payout, Meta has agreed to several new restrictions for younger users, including a default two-hour limit, muted notifications during school hours, and disabling so-called “beauty filters” for photos. [Meta, NPR]
💸 How Will Wisconsin Spend Its Zuckerbucks?
Wisconsin will get at least $219 million over the next 10 years, and could get as much as $313 million, according to Kaul. Allocating Wisconsin’s share is under the sole discretion of Kaul’s office, although at least half the money must go to promote youth mental health and addressing the risks of social media use.
Some of the things the money could be spent on include afterschool programs, youth mental health programs, creating phone-free zones at schools, public health advertising, and crisis intervention hotlines and other services. [WPR]
📱 Limiting Phones in Schools
Wisconsin already started to address the risks of smartphones among students by passing a statewide law earlier this year requiring all Wisconsin schools to come up with a policy limiting cell phones in school.
The Madison Metropolitan School District approved a new policy that started this school year that bans all cell phone use among K-8 students, and bans cell phone use for high school students except for lunchtime.
Some Madison parents want the district to go even further and severely limit all kinds of screens, including iPads, during classroom time. [DPI, News 3, WPR]
