Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle claims brought by 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and three territories alleging that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. A California judge approved the settlement, which will be paid in annual installments over 10 years. Meta denied wrongdoing but agreed to implement new measures designed to improve child safety on its platforms.
The settlement includes several changes for teen users, including a default two-hour daily limit across Instagram and Facebook, nighttime blocks from midnight to 6 a.m., school-hour notification limits, usage reminders, hidden likes and the option to use feeds that are not algorithmically driven. The restrictions are intended to give parents greater control over how their children use the platforms. The daily limit could eventually fall to one hour if other major platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube adopt similar safeguards.
The case adds to growing legal and political pressure on social media companies over child safety. State lawyers had cited internal Meta research and communications as evidence that the company was aware of concerns surrounding young users but failed to do enough to address them. The settlement could also encourage regulators and attorneys general to pursue similar actions against other platforms, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta calling the agreement a potential blueprint for the wider social media industry.
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