WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- Sen. Richard Blumenthal issued text of the following press release:

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), authors of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), released the following statement in response to a nearly $17 billion settlement reached between Meta and a coalition of bipartisan state Attorneys General:

"This massive settlement shows how terrified Meta and Mark Zuckerberg are of accountability in open court. We applaud the bipartisan coalition of state Attorneys General for forcing Meta to start paying a real price for the harm its products have caused an entire generation of young people. The product design changes imposed under this settlement are a first step...