Connecticut will receive $265.4 million under a $17.1 billion multistate settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc. regarding child safety on Instagram and Facebook, Governor Ned Lamont announced.
The settlement enforces sweeping new safety reforms designed to protect children on the platforms. Most of Connecticut's funds will be directed to initiatives that remediate youth harms from social media, including mental health and crisis intervention services, after school and summer school programming, and implementation of phone-free school zones.
In a statement, Lamont said tech companies have "increasingly been taking advantage of kids, creating apps and algorithms that decrease their attention spans, drive them to become addicted, cause them to tune out real life, and harmfully impact their mental health and wellbeing." He called the settlement "long overdue and requires strong protections for children's online safety."
Connecticut Attorney General Tong led the state's legal efforts on the matter. In June, Lamont signed a bipartisan state law intended to protect Connecticut children and adults from harms associated with digital advancements, including youth social media addiction and concerns over artificial intelligence use.