Meta has agreed to a settlement worth up to approximately $18 billion with a bipartisan coalition of 52 state attorneys general over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers.
The settlement agreement is awaiting court approval and would resolve a lawsuit filed in 2023 by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and attorneys general from across the political spectrum.
The lawsuit alleged that Meta developed features that promoted compulsive use among young users while misleading children, parents, and the public about the potential risks associated with its social media platforms.
State attorneys general also accused Meta of unlawfully collecting and using personal data belonging to children under 13. The allegations include violations of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the California False Advertising Act, and the California Unfair Competition Act.
Under the proposed agreement, Meta would introduce additional safety restrictions for Facebook and Instagram users under 18. These measures include a default daily usage limit of two hours, which could only be disabled with parental permission. If YouTube and TikTok adopt similar requirements, the daily limit would be reduced to one hour.
Meta would also block teenagers from using its apps between midnight and 6 a.m. by default. Most notifications would be muted between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., as well as during school hours, although parents could modify these settings. Direct messages and certain account security and safety alerts would be exempt from some restrictions.
Other proposed requirements include hiding likes and reactions from teenage users, disabling cosmetic filters, providing non-personalized feed options, expanding parental monitoring tools, and deploying additional age-verification technology to identify users under 18 and remove children under 13.
Independent auditors would monitor Meta’s compliance with the agreement. The company would also be prohibited from making false or misleading statements about its safety features and protections for young users.
According to the settlement details, Meta would make payments totaling approximately $18 billion over 10 years. Participating states would receive roughly $12.7 billion.
An additional $5.3 billion would be paid only if YouTube and TikTok implement comparable measures, including one-hour daily usage limits, overnight restrictions, age-assurance technology, and equivalent financial contributions.
“This agreement is intended to accelerate adoption across the industry and ensure that teens receive consistent protections across the apps they use most, such as YouTube and TikTok. Once our peers adopt this new standard, certain provisions will be strengthened,” Meta said in its announcement.
California is expected to receive between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion from the settlement.
“While the majority of the payments California receives will ultimately be determined by the Legislature and the Governor, the proposed settlement earmarks them for purposes related to the prevention and remediation of mental health and other harms associated with social media use for California youth,” Attorney General Bonta’s office said in a press release.
Meta said it expects to record approximately $10 billion in litigation-related costs connected to the agreement during the third quarter of 2026.
Most of the new protections would remain in place for 10 years. The agreement would also establish an independent research foundation dedicated to studying teenager welfare and the effects of social media use.
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Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com