Meta settles US social media harms case for up to $16.7 billion
The tech giant ends a federal trial with 51 states and territories, agreeing to a guaranteed payout of $12.7 billion and sweeping product changes for teen users on Instagram and Facebook.
Meta Platforms has agreed to pay up to $16.7 billion to settle a federal lawsuit with 51 US states and territories, resolving claims that the company failed to protect young users on its social media platforms. The settlement, announced on Wednesday, ends a trial that had only begun the previous week, with the guaranteed portion of the deal amounting to $12.7 billion payable over 10 years.
The remaining balance of the payout is contingent on competitors, specifically Snap, TikTok, and YouTube, adopting similar safeguards. If these core industry members implement comparable measures, including a one-hour daily limit and age assurance tools, Meta’s own daily limit for teens will reduce from two hours to one. The deal also requires these rivals to make combined payments comparable to the outstanding amount from Meta.
Beyond the financial terms, Meta is required to implement substantive product changes on Instagram and Facebook. Teens will face a default two-hour daily time limit, which requires parental approval to disable, and the apps will be blocked between midnight and 6 am. Notifications will be muted between 8 am and 3 pm from August 15 to June 15 to minimise distractions during school hours.
Additional measures include hiding like and reaction counts by default for teen users and disabling cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters. Parents will gain greater control over the platform experience, with the ability to set the default feed to chronological rather than algorithmic and to turn off autoplay by default.
The settlement follows earlier state-level losses for Meta in California and New Mexico earlier this year, where the company incurred nearly $1 billion in penalties. While other social media services, including YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok, resolved similar lawsuits out of court, Meta had previously chosen to go to trial, facing potential damages estimated at over $1 trillion.
California attorney general Rob Bonta stated that the settlement would make social media less dangerous for children and families. Meta has also agreed to appoint an independent auditor to relay concerns to the attorneys general and is prohibited from making further false or misleading statements about its safety features.
