Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay as much as $16.7 billion and to impose new limits on teenage social media use as part of a settlement in a multi-state lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday. The agreement, which requires court approval, seeks to resolve claims from a coalition of 47 US states.
Under the proposed settlement, Meta would institute usage limitations for users under 18, including a daily cap of two hours across all its platforms, with parents able to lift the restriction. Underage users would be blocked from the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. During school hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., notifications would be muted by default, with the exception of direct messages and account security alerts.
Meta would also be required to respond to 90 percent of teen reports on potentially harmful content within six hours and offer users under 18 the option of a non-personalized feed as their default. The company said it would take additional measures to identify and remove younger users from its platforms.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Meta had agreed to make "massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms." Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said the settlement would "put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm." Meta said the agreement does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing.
Meta said payments would be distributed in annual installments over 10 years, with participating states receiving approximately 70 percent of the allocated payment over the decade. The remaining roughly 30 percent would be released only if YouTube and TikTok implement equivalent restrictions and make matching payments. Meta's Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney called on the two companies to adopt the framework, saying an industry-wide solution was needed because "teens move fluidly across dozens of apps."
