Media News: Meta Agrees to $16.68 Billion Settlement Over Child Social Media Harms

Meta Platforms will pay up to $16.68 billion to settle lawsuits from U.S. states and territories. The suits accused Meta of intentionally designing Facebook and Instagram in ways that encourage addictive use among children, and of not doing enough to protect young users.

The lawsuits, brought by both Democratic and Republican officials, argued that Meta broke state consumer protection laws and federal privacy rules by collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent. They also claimed Meta misled families about how safe its platforms actually are. Meta has not admitted any wrongdoing in the settlement.

As part of the agreement, Meta will have to put in place new protections for teenagers. These include daily time limits, restrictions at night and during school hours, stronger parental controls, and better age verification. Meta says these requirements add to safety measures it has already started.

Meta said payments will be spread over 10 years and could be used by states for youth online-safety programs or other priorities. While this agreement settles the main claims from states, it does not address the thousands of other lawsuits that argue social media companies are contributing to mental health issues among young people.

The District of Columbia Attorney General described the agreement as a significant public health win. Meta, for its part, argued that other companies like TikTok and YouTube should also be required to put similar protections in place for minors.