Meta reaches a proposed settlement with U.S. states over claims that Instagram and Facebook were designed to be addictive to teens and that the company misled users about related risks. The deal, described as about $17 billion and sometimes reported as $18 billion, is filed by a coalition of state attorneys general and requires court approval. Meta does not admit wrongdoing.
Under the settlement, Meta must implement default usage limits for users under 18, including a two-hour daily time limit across Facebook and Instagram and an overnight restriction that runs from midnight to 6 a.m. Several other safeguards are set out as well, including turning off certain notifications during nighttime and school hours by default, limiting visible engagement metrics for minors, and strengthening age verification and parental supervision tools. The payout is structured so that additional terms and tighter restrictions can depend on whether other platforms adopt comparable measures.
Across outlets, a shared focus is Meta’s call for TikTok and YouTube to follow the same standards. Multiple reports frame the agreement as a “blueprint” or as placing pressure on competitors, with some descriptions indicating that a sizable portion of the settlement’s total depends on rivals’ actions. All sources reference the case’s core allegations about compulsive design and improper handling of minors’ data, while noting Meta’s denial of wrongdoing.
