Key highlights
- Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that harmed and addicted children.
- The settlement requires major changes to how teenagers use the platforms.
- The agreement ends a high-profile trial involving nearly all US states, but Meta still faces thousands of lawsuits.
- Meta guarantees 70% payment over a 10-year period, but the remaining payment is contingent on a condition.
Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion and make significant changes to Facebook and Instagram to settle claims by nearly all US states that the company designed its platforms to addict and harm children.
The settlement ends a high-profile federal trial in Oakland, California, where Meta faced allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to keep young users engaged despite the potential harm to their mental health.
“This is a major moment to clean up an industry that has been hurting our kids,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
According to Reuters, the agreement will see Meta pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and introduce stricter controls on how teenagers use its platforms. Meta has denied wrongdoing and mentioned that the payment it agreed to “will be distributed in annual instalments over a 10-year period.”
The tech giant guaranteed 70% of the settlement (about $12.7 billion) over a decade. However, Meta will pay the remaining amount, around $5 billion, on the condition that competitors such as Snap, TikTok, and YouTube adopt similar measures, including tighter daily limits and wider overnight blocks, and that the larger platforms agree to comparable payments to the states.
The case is one of the biggest legal challenges Meta has faced over the impact of social media on children. States accused the company of designing addictive products, misleading users about their safety, and improperly collecting children’s personal data.
The settlement also requires Meta to make changes aimed at limiting teenagers’ use of Facebook and Instagram and reducing their exposure to harmful content. These include daily and night-time usage restrictions, stronger age verification, and additional safeguards for younger users.
The development comes weeks after Meta suffered a major loss in New Mexico.
Earlier this month, a judge ordered the company to pay an additional $567 million for failing to protect children from harmful content and online predators. Combined with an earlier $375 million penalty, Meta’s total liability in that case rose to $942 million.
The court also ordered tougher protections for underage users, including restrictions on adults messaging minors they do not know, limits on recommendations involving underage accounts, and changes to notifications and usage for teenagers.
Meta’s legal battles not over yet
The latest settlement does not end Meta’s legal troubles. The company still faces thousands of lawsuits from individuals, governments, and school districts that blame social media platforms for contributing to a youth mental health crisis. Other platforms, including TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, are facing similar scrutiny.
The pressure on social media companies is also growing outside the United States.
In Nigeria, policymakers have been considering restrictions on children’s access to social media, including possible age limits and stronger verification systems. Techpoint Africa previously reported that the debate is centred on how to protect young users from cyberbullying, harmful content, and other online risks without cutting them off from the benefits of the internet.
Meta has already introduced additional safety measures, including AI-powered systems designed to identify accounts that may belong to underage users and strengthen enforcement of its minimum age requirements.
For Meta, the $18 billion agreement brings an end to one major trial. The wider question of how far social media companies should be held responsible for the effects of their products on children is far from settled.
