Meta Agrees to Pay Up to $16.7 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Claims Social Media Harmed Children
Meta has agreed to pay as much as $16.7 billion to settle a landmark legal battle with states that accused the social media giant of designing Facebook and Instagram in ways that encouraged addictive use among children and teenagers. The proposed agreement also requires major changes to how young people can use the platforms.
The settlement emerged during the second week of a federal jury trial in Oakland, California. Attorneys general had accused Meta of knowingly using features that encouraged young users to spend excessive amounts of time on its platforms while misleading families and the public about potential risks.
The states also alleged that Meta improperly collected personal information from children under 13 without parental permission. Meta has denied wrongdoing, and the settlement explicitly states that the agreement does not constitute an admission that the company violated state or federal law.
The financial component could ultimately reach $16.68 billion, making the agreement one of the largest settlements of its kind. The money will be distributed among participating states, with portions intended to support programs addressing youth online safety and problems associated with unhealthy social-media use.
But the agreement goes considerably further than financial penalties. Meta has agreed to impose a default two-hour daily limit for users under 18 across Facebook and Instagram. Teenagers will not be able to disable that restriction without permission from a parent or guardian.
Meta will also establish a nighttime block preventing teenagers from accessing major portions of Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 a.m. Features including feeds, Stories, Explore and Reels will be unavailable during those hours, although direct messaging will remain accessible so teenagers can communicate with friends and family.
Another new feature, dubbed “School Mode,” will automatically silence most notifications between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Teenagers will also receive prompts after every 15 minutes of continuous screen time, while parents will receive expanded tools allowing them to monitor usage and attempted changes to safety settings.
The agreement additionally requires stronger age-verification systems designed to identify users who falsely claim to be adults. Meta must maintain private-account defaults for teenagers and continue restricting potentially suspicious adults from finding, following or contacting younger users.
An independent auditor will oversee Meta’s compliance and report findings to participating states. Many of the new protections are required to remain in place for 10 years, giving state officials continuing oversight over some of the company’s most consequential youth-safety practices.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta hailed the agreement as a major victory, arguing that Meta had agreed to make substantial changes that could reduce risks facing children on its platforms. California was among the states leading the legal battle against the technology giant.
Meta, meanwhile, is attempting to turn the agreement into an industry-wide standard. The company is publicly calling on TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar restrictions, arguing that limiting teenagers on Facebook and Instagram alone will have less impact if young users simply shift their time to competing platforms.
The settlement still requires approval from a federal judge before becoming final. If approved, however, it will end one of the most consequential legal challenges Meta has faced over the effects of social media on young people while forcing significant changes to Facebook and Instagram for millions of American teenagers.