newsfromthestates.com · September 8, 2026
AG Lynn Fitch could have ‘virtually unlimited latitude’ to set how Mississippi’s $189 million Meta settlement can be spent | News From The States [ Skip to main content ](#main-content) [   Part of States Newsroom ](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/) search Sort by Latest Relevant Search Search  Stories From The States Colorado ranchers join fight against fossil fuel companies 28:57 https://play.prx.org/e?ge=prx\_14251\_3c1657e2-db5d-478b-98db-eb90ca023a81&uf=https%3A%2F%2Fpublicfeeds.net%2Ff%2F14251%2Fstoriesfromthestates.xml [   Part of States Newsroom ](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/) News ###### AG Lynn Fitch could have ‘virtually unlimited latitude’ to set how Mississippi’s $189 million Meta settlement can be spent ## Share [Bluesky](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#bluesky)[X](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#x)[Facebook](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#facebook)[Email](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#email)[Copy Link](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#copy_link)  [Mississippi](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/state/mississippi) [News](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/news) # AG Lynn Fitch could have ‘virtually unlimited latitude’ to set how Mississippi’s $189 million Meta settlement can be spent [Gov & Politics](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/category/gov-politics) [Healthcare](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/category/healthcare-0) Sep 08, 2026 | 7:00 am ET By Michael Goldberg and Allen Siegler Share [Bluesky](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#bluesky)[X](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#x)[Facebook](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#facebook)[Email](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#email)[Copy Link](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#copy_link)  Description Photo courtesy of Mississippi Today As Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch prepares a plan for how [Mississippi can spend](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/08/26/meta-settlement-mississippi/) $189 million of [national Meta lawsuit funds](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/technology/meta-settlement-social-media-addiction-lawsuit.html), legal experts told Mississippi Today that the settlement raises questions about whether the money will be used to directly address children’s mental health. Fitch is drafting the plan as Meta, the corporation that runs Facebook and Instagram, prepares to pay billions of dollars to states after attorneys general accused the company of endangering children across the country with their social media platforms. The settlement agreement the lawyers came to doesn’t require Mississippi to use the money for any specific purpose, instead [instructing the attorney general](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28597993-23-05448-ecf-572-1-exhibit-1-mdl-consent-judgment-final-settlment-agreement-fully-executed/#document/p116/a2828779) to set the parameters in a final consent decree filing. Fitch’s office said lawyers for the state would file that plan in Hinds Chancery Court this month. Legal experts, mental health advocates and state lawmakers told Mississippi Today that Fitch’s plan could impact the health of children in the state for years to come. ### **A landmark settlement** The final consent decree is coming after 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories [reached a historic $17 billion settlement](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28597993-23-05448-ecf-572-1-exhibit-1-mdl-consent-judgment-final-settlment-agreement-fully-executed/) in late August with Meta. Mississippi’s share of the money could go up to $270 million if the tech companies Snap, TikTok and YouTube also agree to settlements with the attorneys general. The settlement follows a series of years-long parallel lawsuits and joint federal complaints against Meta, [accusing the company](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28597991-meta-lawsuit-mississippi-complaint/) of turning its social media platforms Instagram and Facebook into “addiction machines,” targeting children during vulnerable life stages. This settlement resolves those cases, including Mississippi’s lawsuit, with payments to each of the states and establishing [new safety standards](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28597993-23-05448-ecf-572-1-exhibit-1-mdl-consent-judgment-final-settlment-agreement-fully-executed/#document/p21/a2828761) Meta must implement on Facebook and Instagram. Some social media experts [have questioned](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/31/meta-whistleblower-says-17b-settlement-doesnt-do-enough-to-save-kids-lives-01056757) whether the standards will be effective. But the agreement allows many states to determine how their share of the billions of dollars will be spent as Meta makes payments over 10 years, starting by the end of this month. The national settlement offers suggestions for how states could spend the [lawsuit money](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28597993-23-05448-ecf-572-1-exhibit-1-mdl-consent-judgment-final-settlment-agreement-fully-executed/#document/p49/a2828694) — such as improving youth crisis hotlines or funding outdoor activities. But those recommendations are non-binding. Asked about the parameters she might set for spending the money, Fitch told Mississippi Today it would be spent to provide children with information to protect themselves from the harms of social media. “The money will be used for our children,” Fitch said. “It will be geared specifically to protect our children (through) awareness, outreach, programs that involve them and give them the information to be protected.” Fitch, a Republican, is [running for governor](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/08/04/lynn-fitch-announces-run-for-governor/) and has [touted her efforts](https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/clarion-ledger-op-ed-2025-1.pdf) to protect children from large technology companies. MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Fitch, said the consent decree will follow the directions laid out in the global settlement. Lee didn’t answer an additional emailed question about how the Hinds County consent decree will ensure the Meta money is spent to help Mississippi children. She said the lawsuit “was premised in part on the impact on children’s mental wellbeing and the settlement agreement her office helped to negotiate made that a priority.” But no legal documents bind Mississippi’s Meta money to that priority yet. Matt Steffey, a Mississippi Christian University law professor, said the settlement does not include some of the restrictions that were tethered to the [$430 million](https://mississippitoday.org/projects/mississippi-opioid-settlement-funds/) the state is [receiving in opioid settlement](https://deepsouthtoday.org/podcasts/black-box/) money. [Some of those funds](https://mississippitoday.org/2025/09/15/black-box-of-opioid-settlement-spending/) can be spent on purposes unrelated to addiction, but the lawsuits against the drug companies that contributed to the overdose epidemic say the state must use most of it to address addiction. By contrast, the Meta settlement says state attorneys general can use the money for any lawful purpose.