(The Center Square) — Louisiana is set to receive at least $180.9 million from a sweeping multistate settlement with Meta and could collect another $67 million if other major social media companies agree to similar child-safety restrictions.

Attorney General Liz Murrill announced the agreement Wednesday as part of a nationwide settlement resolving allegations that Meta deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to keep children engaged, misled the public about the platforms’ safety and improperly collected children’s data.

The settlement requires Meta to pay states billions of dollars while making significant changes to how minors use Facebook and Instagram, including daily time limits, overnight restrictions, reduced notifications during school hours and stronger age-assurance measures.

“This settlement is an earthquake when it comes to child safety reforms and Big Tech accountability,” Murrill said. “This isn’t a payoff — it’s meaningful reform that gives Louisiana the tools we need to focus on the safety of our children in the digital world.”

Louisiana is expected to receive $180,878,138 under the initial agreement. Another roughly $67 million would become available to the state if competing platforms agree to comparable monetary settlements and safety restrictions, according to Murrill’s office.

Meta said about 70% of the nationwide payment is guaranteed, while the remaining 30% is contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting certain safeguards and making their own payments. The agreement still requires approval from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in California.

Murrill’s office separately said Louisiana will receive another $7.6 million to resolve claims connected to Meta’s sharing of Facebook users’ nonpublic information with third parties, including Cambridge Analytica before the 2016 election. The attorney general’s announcement does not make clear whether that amount is already included in the $180.9 million Louisiana allocation.

The settlement emerged just days after a major federal trial began in California over allegations from states that Meta’s products harmed young users. Among other claims, states accused the company of collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental permission and using some of that information in machine-learning and artificial-intelligence systems. Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

The deal would impose some of the restrictions Louisiana lawmakers have attempted to require through state law.

Louisiana enacted the Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act in 2023, requiring social media companies to verify users’ ages, obtain parental permission for certain minors and provide additional parental controls.

But a federal judge permanently blocked enforcement of much of that law against Meta, Snap, YouTube, Discord and several other companies in December, finding its age-verification and related requirements violated the First Amendment. Murrill appealed that ruling to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals this spring.

Under the Meta settlement, minors will instead be placed by default under a combined two-hour daily limit on Instagram and Facebook, with prompts after periods of continuous use. Access to most features will be restricted from midnight to 6 a.m., while push notifications will generally be muted during school hours.

“The framework we’ve negotiated will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms,” C.J. Mahoney, Chief Legal Officer at Meta, said. “Our new Time Limit commitments, Night Mode features and usage limits during school hours set the right path forward for our whole industry, but this framework will only work if all our peers join us.”

Meta also agreed to strengthen parental controls, age detection and protections against unwanted contact from adults. If TikTok and YouTube accept similar terms, Meta’s daily limit would tighten to one hour per platform and several restrictions would remain in place longer.

The agreement is part of a broader legal offensive by Murrill against online platforms over their treatment of children.

Louisiana previously sued TikTok, alleging its addictive design and representations about content available to children violated state consumer-protection laws. The state also sued Roblox, accusing the gaming platform of failing to adequately protect children from sexual predators. Both cases were filed in Louisiana’s 21st Judicial District Court.

Murrill on Wednesday also announced new lawsuits against Snap Inc., which operates Snapchat, and Discord, alleging the messaging platforms misrepresented their safety while allowing predators to communicate with children.