Meta Agrees to $18 Billion Settlement Over Teen Addiction

Following a federal bellwether trial in Oakland, Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to a landmark settlement of up to $18 billion to resolve lawsuits brought by a bipartisan coalition of 47 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories. The lawsuits alleged that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram with addictive features that harmed youth mental health and violated child privacy laws. The total payout includes approximately $12.7 billion in guaranteed payments over a decade, with an additional $5.3 billion contingent upon TikTok and YouTube adopting similar safety frameworks and making matching payments.

Under the agreement, Meta must implement sweeping product changes for users under 18, including a default two-hour daily time limit, a "Night Mode" block from midnight to 6 a.m., and a "School Mode" that mutes notifications during school hours. The company will also hide like and reaction counts by default, ban extreme makeup and cosmetic surgery filters, and enhance age verification tools. An independent auditor will monitor compliance for five years.

While most jurisdictions joined the pact, Florida and New Mexico remained separate. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier rejected the terms as "peanuts" compared to the harm caused. In the UK, government officials expressed concern that American youth would receive higher protections than British users, prompting calls for Meta to extend the safeguards globally. Meta denies any wrongdoing, maintaining that the settlement avoids further trial risk while establishing a new industry standard.