Meta has entered into a settlement agreement worth $18 billion to resolve litigation brought by 48 US states, the District of Columbia, and three territories. The agreement, approved by California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, addresses claims that Facebook and Instagram have caused harm to younger users. While the company has agreed to the payout—which will be distributed in annual installments over a decade—it maintains that it has not engaged in any wrongdoing.

The legal action, which originated from a 2023 lawsuit, relied on internal documents, including research and communications involving Meta executives. Prosecutors argued that the company was aware of the presence of millions of pre-teen users on its platforms but failed to take sufficient action to restrict their access. During the brief trial, state lawyers highlighted internal research suggesting that some teenagers experienced an "addict's narrative" regarding their platform usage.

As part of the settlement, Meta is required to introduce several safety measures designed to protect minors. These include default daily time limits, "night mode" to block notifications between midnight and 6:00 a.m., and "school mode" to mute alerts during school hours. Additionally, the company will hide likes on teen profiles, disable certain beauty filters, and offer feeds not controlled by algorithms. These settings are intended to be managed by parents or guardians.

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the agreement as a "major moment to clean up an industry that has been hurting our kids." Meta’s chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, stated that the company believes these commitments provide a "right path forward" for the industry, though he noted that the framework would be most effective if other platforms like TikTok and YouTube adopted similar standards.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers noted that the settlement provides both monetary relief and a "good faith approach" to changing corporate conduct. While most of the US is covered by this agreement, New Mexico remains an outlier, having recently secured a separate ruling that labeled Meta a "public nuisance" with nearly $1 billion in associated fines.

Source: BBC News