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How the Historic Meta Settlement Will Impact Wisconsin

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 today, 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]