Meta has reached a significant settlement agreement, committing to pay between $16.68 billion and $18 billion over the next decade. This resolution addresses claims brought by an initial 29 U.S. states, which later expanded to include 47 states, Washington D.C., and several other territories. Despite agreeing to this substantial sum, Meta maintains its stance, denying any wrongdoing regarding allegations that its platforms have harmed children.
The lawsuit, which led to the settlement during a federal trial in California, accused Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive for children. Further allegations included misleading consumers about the safety of these platforms and unlawfully collecting data from children under 13, a direct violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This settlement prevents a verdict from being reached in the trial.
In conjunction with the financial agreement, Meta has committed to implementing a wide array of new safety features, many of which will be enabled by default. A default two-hour daily usage limit will be enforced for users under 18 across both Facebook and Instagram, though this limit can be adjusted by a parent. Additionally, access to most platform features will be blocked for minors between midnight and 6 AM, with direct messages potentially serving as an exception.
Further protective measures include the disabling of push notifications for users under 18 during school hours, specifically from 8 AM to 3 PM on school days, and during nighttime hours, from 10 PM to 7 AM. The display of ‘likes’ or reactions on posts made by minors will be banned, and the use of cosmetic surgery or makeup filters will be prohibited for minors. To encourage mindful usage, ‘Take a Break’ prompts will now be enabled by default, appearing after every 15 minutes of continuous use and again after an hour.
The agreement also mandates stronger and more user-friendly parental controls, alongside enhanced age verification measures to better protect young users. A new tool will be provided for teens to report potentially harmful content, with Meta required to respond to 90% of these reports within half a day. Teen users will also be given the option to choose a non-personalized feed, which will not be influenced by algorithmic recommendations.
Meta’s chief legal officer has publicly urged other major social media companies, including TikTok, YouTube, and Snap, to adopt similar child safety standards. The duration of some of these new safety features, such as time limits and notification blocks, is set for five years, with a provision to extend them to 10 years if rival platforms implement comparable restrictions. This settlement is contingent upon court approval and represents the largest state consumer protection settlement in history outside of the landmark Big Tobacco settlements.