Blackburn & Blumenthal Statement on Meta’s Landmark $17 Billion Settlement in Case About Social Media Harms to Kids

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released the following statement after Meta reached a landmark settlement with 47 states and agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion in penalties over claims it harmed children with social media addiction:

"This massive settlement shows how terrified Meta and Mark Zuckerberg are of accountability in open court. We applaud the bipartisan coalition of state Attorneys General for forcing Meta to start paying a real price for the harm its products have caused an entire generation of young people. The product design changes imposed under this settlement are a first step toward giving kids and parents the tools they need to take back control of their online lives, but they can be strengthened. Meta notes that these terms are only required to stay in place for 10 years-we must ensure permanent change. We also need safeguards that apply across the board-to all social media companies-not just Instagram and Facebook. This settlement once again demands that Congress pass the Kids Online Safety Act into law before the end of the year."

Blackburn and Blumenthal are the lead sponsors of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which would provide kids and parents with better tools to protect themselves online, hold Big Tech accountable for harms to kids, and provide transparency into black box algorithms. The legislation has 75 total co-sponsors and was approved by the Senate in a bipartisan 91-3 vote last Congress.