Meta settles youth addiction lawsuit for up to $18 billion

Meta has agreed to a landmark $18 billion settlement with 48 U.S. states to resolve a federal trial over teen social media addiction. The agreement mandates sweeping changes to Facebook and Instagram, including a default two-hour daily limit for minors, a midnight-to-6 a.m. lockout, and hidden like counts. While advocates celebrate the default nature of these guardrails, critics warn that Meta still defines what constitutes harm. Meta is now pressuring rivals TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same standards.

Settlement payment structure

• ▪Meta will release 30 percent of the settlement amount—about $5.3 billion—only if competitors YouTube and TikTok implement comparable teen safety features and make matching payments
• ▪Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years to settle a landmark multi-state lawsuit over teen social media addiction
• ▪The $18 billion settlement includes $17 billion for a sprawling case representing 47 states and a parallel $1 billion agreement with Texas
• ▪California will receive the largest individual state sum of at least $1.5 billion from the Meta settlement

Default safety restrictions

• ▪Meta agreed to make several safety limitations the default setting for teen accounts, shifting from its previous opt-in approach to child safety
• ▪Meta will ban cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters for teenage users on Facebook and Instagram
• ▪The settlement requires Meta to implement age verification software, tested annually by a third party, to prevent children under 13 from accessing its platforms
• ▪Under the settlement, Meta must hide "like" counts by default on posts viewed or created by teenage users

Teen usage time limits

• ▪Meta will disable push notifications to teen accounts during weekday school hours, defined as 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• ▪Meta will implement a default two-hour daily time limit for users under 18 across Facebook and Instagram, which can only be adjusted with parental permission
• ▪The settlement mandates a "night mode" blocking app access for teens from midnight to 6 a.m., though messaging features will remain accessible

State litigation claims

• ▪The lawsuit accused Meta of deliberately designing features to addict children, hiding internal research on mental health harms, and collecting data on children under 13 without parental consent
• ▪Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier rejected the settlement, calling the payouts "peanuts" compared to the harms inflicted on children
• ▪The federal trial in Oakland, California, was cut short in its second week by the settlement before Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg could testify
• ▪The settlement does not resolve separate active cases against Meta, including a New Mexico enforcement action and a California state-court jury verdict awarding damages to an individual plaintiff

Congressional regulatory failure

• ▪U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal used the momentum of the Meta settlement to demand that Congress pass the Kids Online Safety Act before the end of 2026
• ▪State attorneys general used consumer protection litigation to bypass a gridlocked U.S. Congress, which has repeatedly failed to pass comprehensive federal kids' online safety legislation

Industry precedent pressure

• ▪Meta publicly urged competitors TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safety standards, arguing that an industry-wide solution is necessary because teens move fluidly between apps
• ▪California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that the coalition of states is in talks with other social media companies and is prepared to take them to court if they do not adopt similar protections

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