On Wednesday, Meta agreed to settle dozens of lawsuits from attorneys general across the country that claimed social media has caused a youth mental health crisis. Meta will pay at least $12.7 billion to the 47 states and territories bringing the suits over the next 10 years, with the total potentially rising to about $17.1 billion if other major social media companies agree to similar youth-safety measures.

Virginia will receive a guaranteed $353 million, Maryland will receive $327 million and D.C. is set to get up to $129 million under the agreement.

Now that the settlement is confirmed, questions are being asked about how the states and territories might invest the funds.

“I would suspect that some of it will be utilized for the larger public health dimension of these lawsuits because it’s all predicated upon minors’ mental health,” Virginia Tech professor and Director of the School of Communications Cayce Myers told WTOP. “What I would suspect going forward is that we see states emerging with a lot of restrictions around social media. Some of them have emergent bills that, they’re looking at this, particularly in states like California.”

Myers said from an operational standpoint, he expects across-the-board changes, particularly if other platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube, enact similar changes.

“That creates kind of a problem for social media companies because you have this patchwork of social media law that is going to reflect the legislatures in these individual states, whether or not they be very pro-business or pro-privacy or pro-regulation,” Myers said.

Should Congress get involved?

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“Congress has political interest in addressing it from a national standpoint,” Myers said. “The problem with Congress is that it’s hyperpolarized, and bipartisan support on most things is very difficult to come by.”

But, Myers said, the issue is a politically salient one for members of Congress, citing its popularity and public demand for more protections for minors.

“I think if anything could gain bipartisan support, protections from social media on minors would be something that you could get some agreement on,” Myers said. “How the details fold out is going to be the problem.”

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