Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has reached a major settlement in a closely watched social media addiction lawsuit brought by dozens of states, according to a court filing submitted Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Meta will pay $17 billion to the states involved in the litigation and introduce new child-safety protections across its platforms. The settlement brings an end to claims filed by 47 states.
The legal challenge began in 2023, when 29 states — including California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — sued Meta, accusing the tech giant of designing Facebook and Instagram to “entice, engage and ultimately ensnare” young users while misleading the public about the potential dangers of its platforms.
The lawsuit also alleged that Meta violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, by collecting and using personal information from users under 13.
Meta described the settlement as a significant step forward and urged other major social media companies to adopt similar safeguards for children and teenagers.
“We just announced an agreement with a bipartisan group of 52 Attorneys General across U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia to set a new industry standard, building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens,” a Meta spokesperson said in an email. “While this is an important step, these protections will only be truly effective if our peers-TikTok and YouTube-put the same measures in place.”
New safeguards
As part of the settlement, Meta will roll out additional child safety measures, including a two-hour daily limit for teen users with required breaks, a nighttime restriction blocking minors from accessing feeds, and muted push notifications during school hours.
The agreement also calls for stronger and easier-to-use parental controls, along with limits on features tied to social comparison, including visible “like” counts.
Alain Sherter
contributed to this report.
