Recently, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a landmark multistate settlement with Meta that requires design changes to better protect young people from social media harms — and directs funding toward digital wellness and media literacy.

Massachusetts deserves credit for recognizing that product design reform and education work together. Safer platforms reduce exposure to harm; media literacy gives young people the skills to navigate a digital environment that will keep changing long after any single settlement is implemented. Neither approach is sufficient on its own.

Young people have told us what they need: the ability to think critically about what they see, share, and create online. This settlement responds directly to that call.

An Opportunity for Every Participating State
Massachusetts is not alone. State attorneys general in 47 states across the country are party to this settlement, and each participating state now faces the same question: how do we turn these funds into long-lasting protection for kids?

We urge states to invest in media literacy instruction as a core part of the answer — and to build for the long term rather than fund one-off programs. Concretely, that means:

• Supporting professional development and teacher training so educators are equipped and confident to teach these skills.
• Providing model guidance and resources to districts and schools, so local leaders aren’t starting from scratch.
• Facilitating district- and state-wide collaboration through networks where educators can share best practices, resources, and professional learning opportunities.
• Encouraging integration into local curriculum cycles, incorporating media literacy into existing curriculum review processes rather than treating it as an add-on.
• Positioning librarians as media literacy champions, enabling them to curate best practices, lead professional development, and serve as ongoing resources for teachers and students.
• Developing a strategic implementation plan — a long-term strategy for media literacy across all grade levels and subject areas, embedded into state learning standards.

We’re Ready to Help
Media literacy is not a single lesson or a one-semester elective. These are lifelong skills, and they belong in every subject and every grade across the K–12 experience.

Media Literacy Now has State Advocacy Leaders in more than 25 states, along with networks of individuals, partners, and other stakeholders working to advance media literacy in their communities. We want to work with state attorneys general offices and departments of education as they invest in solutions to mitigate the harms of social media and address youth mental health. We strongly believe media literacy education can and should be part of that solution.

If your state is determining how to allocate these funds, we’d welcome the conversation. Reach out to us.