Montana will receive between $89 million and $127 million from a landmark $17.1 billion settlement with Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, following a coordinated lawsuit by 47 states over the social media giant’s handling of youth safety and user data.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office led the state’s participation in the multistate coalition. “This settlement agreement is the culmination of years of hard work to hold Meta accountable for their dangerous and deceptive practices that put the health and well-being of Montana kids at risk,” Knudsen said, as first reported by the Daily Montanan.

How Montana Will Use the Funds

The settlement mandates that at least half of Montana’s allocation must fund remediation efforts targeting harms caused by social media use among minors. Eligible uses span mental health expansion, youth safety initiatives, and digital wellness education.

Specific investments may include expansion of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, youth crisis text line services, after-school and summer programming, public health advertising campaigns, digital literacy education, outdoor activity funding, youth mental health programming, digital wellness counselors in schools, phone-free school zones, and medical provider training on social media’s effects on body image and development. School districts may also receive grants to support social media safety efforts.

Additional Settlement for Data Privacy Violations

Montana secured an additional $4.3 million settlement resolving separate claims that Meta had shared nonpublic user information with third parties, including the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, prior to the 2016 election. That violation exposed Montana residents’ data without consent during a sensitive election period.

Broader Context

The multistate settlement reflects growing pressure from state attorneys general and federal regulators to impose accountability on major social media platforms over their impact on youth mental health and data privacy practices. The enforcement action underscores concerns that platforms have inadequately protected minors from algorithmic amplification of harmful content and have mishandled user data.

Montana joins dozens of states in using settlement proceeds to invest in youth mental health infrastructure and digital safety education—areas where demand has grown sharply in recent years.