- Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle a major legal fight over the impact of Facebook and Instagram on children.
- The agreement covers claims brought by nearly all US states and territories and ends a closely watched federal trial in California.
- Authorities accused Meta of collecting children’s data without proper parental consent and designing platforms that could keep young users hooked.
- The settlement will introduce stricter limits on teenage usage, overnight access, notifications and age verification.
- Meta denied wrongdoing, while the deal does not end all lawsuits against the company over alleged harm to young users.
Meta has brought one of its biggest legal battles over child safety to an abrupt end after agreeing to pay up to $18 billion under a settlement with US states and territories. The agreement was announced on Wednesday, August 26, just days after a federal trial began in Oakland, California. The case had been expected to produce weeks of testimony and intense courtroom battles before the settlement was reached.
The dispute involved allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to keep young users engaged for long periods. Authorities also accused Meta of misleading the public about safety risks and improperly handling personal information belonging to children. Meta rejected the allegations and has maintained that it has invested heavily in protecting young people on its platforms.
The settlement covers 48 states, Washington, DC and several US territories. New Mexico and Florida were not part of the agreement, with New Mexico having already secured a major judgment against Meta and Florida’s attorney general arguing that the settlement did not go far enough.
At the heart of the legal fight were claims that Meta’s platforms encouraged children and teenagers to spend excessive amounts of time online. Four states, California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, led the consumer protection claims in the federal trial. The wider group of 29 states also accused Meta of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA.
The privacy allegations focused on children under 13 and the collection and use of their personal information without the required parental notification or consent. Prosecutors also raised concerns about how such information was retained and used. The dispute highlighted growing concerns over how major technology companies handle young users and their data.
The case was also part of a much wider legal campaign against social media companies. Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap continue to face lawsuits from states, school districts and individuals over allegations that their platforms contribute to harm among young people.
New Restrictions Coming to Facebook and Instagram
The settlement will force Meta to introduce significant changes for younger users in the United States. Teenagers will face a two-hour daily usage limit, although parents will have the ability to modify the restriction. Access will also be blocked between midnight and 6am unless parental permission is provided.
Meta will also reduce push notifications during weekday school hours. The company has agreed to strengthen age verification and introduce tighter controls designed to keep children away from age-restricted material. Other measures will target content linked to bullying, self-harm and eating disorders.
The changes are expected to remain in place for up to a decade under the agreement. The settlement also calls for external oversight of some of the safety measures. Meta has described the deal as an opportunity to establish stronger industry standards for protecting young users.
Trial Ends Before Zuckerberg Takes the Stand
The settlement came before Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify. The trial had already produced difficult moments for the company, with witnesses facing questions about internal decisions surrounding child safety. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri had also appeared in court and was questioned about safety features designed to help teenagers reduce their time on the platform.
One issue involved Instagram’s “Take a Break” feature, which encourages users to stop using the app after spending a certain amount of time on it. Mosseri acknowledged that only a small percentage of teenagers were using the feature before it was switched on by default in September 2024. The testimony became part of the states’ wider argument that Meta had been slow to make safety measures more effective.
Other testimony focused on internal safety research and how information was presented to company leadership. Instagram product design executive Francesco Fogu acknowledged that data showing teenagers were exposed to certain harmful content at higher rates than adults had been removed from one presentation slide, although he later said the information appeared elsewhere in the presentation.
Meta Has Faced More Legal Pressure
The settlement follows several other difficult legal battles for Meta. Earlier this year, a New Mexico jury ordered the company to pay $375 million after finding it had misled consumers about the safety of its platforms. A judge later ordered an additional $567 million payment and imposed youth safety measures after finding Meta had created a public nuisance.
Meta has also faced a separate case brought by an individual in California. A Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable in a case involving claims that social media use contributed to a young woman’s mental health problems and awarded $6 million in damages. Both companies have said they intend to appeal the verdicts.
The latest agreement therefore removes one major legal threat but does not close the wider debate around social media and children. Thousands of other cases remain active across the United States. The industry is now under growing pressure to prove that stronger safety measures can match the concerns being raised by parents, regulators and courts.
A New Chapter for Social Media Safety
Meta’s settlement could mark an important shift in how large social media companies approach young users. The company will now have to make significant changes to the way teenagers use Facebook and Instagram in the US. The financial cost is also substantial, with payments reaching as much as $18 billion over the next decade.
The agreement does not mean Meta has admitted that its platforms caused the alleged harm. The company continues to deny wrongdoing while saying it wants to provide a safer experience for teenagers and work with parents. Its decision to settle instead of continuing the trial nevertheless puts child safety at the centre of the next phase of the social media debate.
The pressure is also spreading beyond the United States. On Thursday, Philippine officials said Meta had agreed to strengthen age verification, parental controls and the removal of harmful content following discussions with authorities there. The development came only a day after the US settlement, showing how quickly demands for stronger protections for children are spreading across different markets.
