Meta Platforms agreed Monday to pay up to $18 billion to settle lawsuits brought by a bipartisan coalition of U.S. states over claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children and harm their mental health. According to officials, the settlement resolves a multistate lawsuit and includes guaranteed payments over 10 years, avoiding a landmark trial in California federal court.
Under the terms of the settlement, Meta will pay the states up to $18 billion over a 10-year period, with $12.7 billion guaranteed regardless of other platforms’ actions, and about $5 billion contingent on similar commitments from competitors such as YouTube, TikTok, and Snap, according to officials familiar with the agreement. The funds are designated for youth online safety programs and related state priorities, rather than direct compensation to individual users, Meta said in a statement released Monday.
The settlement resolves a multistate lawsuit led by a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general, involving between 48 and 52 states plus the District of Columbia and several territories, depending on the source.
The original 2023 suit was filed by 29 states alleging that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive for children and teens, contributing to mental health harms including anxiety, depression, and body-image issues. Additional states and territories later joined, creating a near-nationwide settlement, according to court records.
The agreement ends a landmark trial scheduled in California federal court, which would have featured testimony from senior Meta executives including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, sources confirmed. Meta resolved related claims across multiple state groupings under a single framework, capping its total financial exposure at $18 billion over the decade.
As part of the settlement, Meta will implement specific safety measures for users aged 13 to 17 on Facebook and Instagram. These include a default two-hour daily time limit on app use, which only parents can modify or disable, officials said. Teen accounts will also receive prompts after 15 minutes of continuous use encouraging breaks, and a “school mode” will reduce or mute push notifications during typical school hours, such as 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The agreement mandates “night mode” or overnight blocks that prevent teen access by default between midnight and 6 a.m., with the possibility of broader restrictions if other platforms adopt similar policies. Additionally, like and reaction counts will be hidden by default on posts made by or visible to teen users to reduce social comparison pressures, according to sources familiar with the settlement.
Meta will offer an optional non-personalized feed for teen users that does not rely on engagement algorithms or behavioral profiling, which the company must roll out within four months of the settlement taking effect. The company also agreed to limit recommendation and targeting systems aimed at teens, including disabling features that promote potentially harmful or addictive content, officials said.
Enhanced age assurance measures are a key component of the deal. Meta will deploy technical age-checking systems and policy enforcement to prevent children under 13 from accessing Facebook or Instagram and to restrict teen access to inappropriate content. Major age-assurance requirements must be implemented within one year, with verification and audit provisions allowing state oversight to ensure compliance, according to court documents.
The multistate lawsuits alleged that Meta knowingly designed addictive features such as infinite scroll and algorithmic feeds to increase engagement among minors while disregarding internal research on potential harms. Attorneys general accused the company of violating consumer protection and child safety laws by failing to warn users and by misrepresenting the risks of its platforms to young people. The case attracted national attention as one of the highest-profile legal challenges to social media’s impact on children.
In its statement, Meta denied wrongdoing and did not admit liability but expressed commitment to improving safety for young users. State officials described the settlement as a historic agreement that will reshape how teens interact with social media. The deal also sets a benchmark for other platforms, as part of Meta’s payment is contingent on rivals adopting similar safeguards and making comparable payments to states.
The settlement is structured as a consent judgment, allowing courts and attorneys general to enforce the terms if Meta fails to implement the promised changes. It also consolidates multiple lawsuits into a single framework, providing a coordinated approach to addressing youth online safety across the United States.
The broader implications of the case include establishing new regulatory expectations for social media companies regarding child safety and mental health. The settlement’s enforcement mechanisms and transparency requirements aim to ensure ongoing compliance. The multistate coalition and Meta will oversee implementation, with periodic reporting and audits to monitor progress.
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