Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced a landmark settlement with Meta Platforms Inc., resolving allegations that Facebook and Instagram were intentionally engineered to exploit young users and that the company misrepresented its safety practices.

The settlement totals up to $127 million, with $89 million guaranteed to Montana and an additional $4.3 million tied to claims involving the unauthorized sharing of user data with third parties ahead of the 2016 election. Under the agreement, Meta must implement safety features on both platforms and dedicate at least half of Montana’s settlement proceeds to remediate documented harms to minors.

Investigation Uncovers Concealed Research

Knudsen launched the investigation into Meta in 2021, uncovering what his office characterized as a pattern of deception. The inquiry found that Meta had deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive to minors while concealing internal research showing that young users faced significant mental health risks from prolonged use.

“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 told the NBC Montana, according to the announcement.

Broader Accountability Effort

The Montana settlement reflects growing scrutiny from state attorneys general over social media companies’ practices affecting children. Knudsen indicated the action was meant to set a precedent for industry accountability.

“I’m glad Meta has taken responsibility and I hope other social media companies will follow suit,” Knudsen told the NBC Montana of the agreement.

The settlement requires Meta to implement specific safety features designed to protect younger users on Facebook and Instagram, though the announcement did not detail the precise nature of those measures. The mandate that at least half of settlement funds be used to remediate harms suggests Montana intends to direct resources toward supporting minors affected by the platforms’ design.

Election-Era Data Sharing

The settlement also addresses a separate but related concern: Meta’s sharing of nonpublic user information with third parties during the 2016 election cycle. The $4.3 million component of the settlement covers that aspect of the investigation.

Montana joins a growing list of states taking legal action against major social media platforms over their design practices and data handling. The settlement signals that state-level enforcement actions remain a viable avenue for addressing tech industry conduct, particularly when it involves minors.