Meta agrees to $16.68 billion settlement over alleged social media harms to children

Meta has agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram to settle claims that it designed its platforms to addict children, misled consumers about their safety and improperly collected children's personal data.

The landmark settlement resolves claims brought by 29 US states and ends a federal trial in Oakland, California, that had become one of the most significant tests of social media companies' responsibility for alleged harms to younger users. Meta denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Under the agreement, Meta will introduce daily usage limits for children on Facebook and Instagram, restrict their use of the platforms at night and strengthen measures intended to prevent minors from accessing age-restricted content.

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The settlement comes just over a week after the trial began on August 18. The proceedings had already seen Instagram head Adam Mosseri testify about Meta's teen-safety measures, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to take the stand.

The states accused Meta of violating consumer-protection laws and the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. They alleged the company collected personal data from users it knew were children without parental notification or consent, and subsequently used that data to train machine-learning and generative AI models.

Before the trial, Meta said four states (California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey) were seeking penalties of up to $1.4 trillion. The states said the potential figure was closer to $200 billion.

The agreement also resolves separate lawsuits brought by California, Illinois, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., relating to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. Those jurisdictions will receive $459.3 million.

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The settlement follows other major setbacks for Meta this year. In March, a New Mexico jury ordered the company to pay $375 million after finding it had misled consumers about platform safety. A judge subsequently ordered another $567 million in August and imposed youth-safety measures.

Separately, a Los Angeles jury in March found Meta and Google liable for a young user's depression and anxiety, awarding a combined $6 million in damages. Both companies have said they will appeal.

The broader fight over social media and children is far from over. Meta, Snap, Google and TikTok continue to face thousands of lawsuits in US federal and state courts alleging that engagement-focused platform features were knowingly designed to addict children and teenagers.