Meta Platforms has settled a case with states in the U.S., agreeing to pay up to $18 billion and implement significant changes to Facebook and Instagram. The settlement, reached during a California federal trial, addresses allegations that the company engineered the apps to create addiction among children, deceived consumers about safety, and unlawfully obtained personal data from child users.
While denying any wrongdoing, Meta has agreed to restrict teenagers’ daily use of Facebook and Instagram to two hours, with no access between midnight and 6 a.m. unless parental consent is given. The company will also strengthen measures to prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content.
Despite the settlement, Meta is not required to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising. Furthermore, the agreement does not specifically address problematic content identified by Meta researchers, such as posts affecting Instagram users’ body image.
The payout, equivalent to about three to four months of profit for the California-based tech giant, includes over $16.7 billion for 47 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Texas separately settled for more than $1 billion.
The settlement also resolves privacy lawsuits related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, providing $459.3 million to California, Illinois, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C. Legal experts consider the settlement a significant development with potential far-reaching implications for social media companies and user experience.