Meta agrees to pay $18 billion to settle lawsuits over children's social media addiction

Meta Platforms will pay up to **$18 billion** and strictly limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under a sweeping agreement with nearly all U.S. states to resolve claims it designed those social media platforms to addict children. The settlements announced on Wednesday end a federal trial over allegations Meta's products harmed children and the company misled the public about their safety. Four of the states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — were expected to seek close to **$200 billion** in civil penalties. While Meta will not undergo a fundamental overhaul, the accords represent a sweeping effort to define how it serves young users. It could provide a template for resolving thousands of other lawsuits against social media companies. Governments around the world are trying to curb children's access to harmful online content, including a ban in Australia on social media for children under 16. The settlements include maximum payments of about **$17.7 billion** to 48 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. California could receive a **$2.2 billion** payout, while New York and Texas could each receive more than **$1 billion**. Some states will deposit funds they receive in general accounts while others will earmark portions to address children's mental health. Meta guaranteed payments of about **$12.7 billion**, with another **$5 billion** contingent on whether Snap Inc's Snapchat, ByteDance's TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube impose similar protections for children. Those companies were not immediately available for comment. Wednesday's settlements also call for Meta to pay **$459 million** to resolve states' privacy claims related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where a British consulting firm collected personal data of millions of Facebook users without authorization. The main settlement, which does not include Texas, requires approval by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who oversaw the trial that began on August 18. Instagram head Adam Mosseri had begun testifying, and Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to testify. At a Wednesday hearing, Gonzalez Rogers called the settlement "a good step forward" and said she expected to grant approval. "I don't want to suggest that there's anything with this agreement that I am particularly concerned with," the judge said. "I am quite happy to not have to finish up this trial." Social media companies still face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts by individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities claiming they knowingly sought to addict children, and caused a mental health crisis including harms such as anxiety, depression and suicide. Gonzalez Rogers oversees many of these cases. The Meta trial included claims by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that the company's conduct violated state consumer protection laws. It also included claims by 29 states that Meta violated the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by knowingly collecting personal data from children without parental consent and using the data to train generative AI. New Mexico was not part of Wednesday's settlements, but the state's Attorney General Raul Torrez said the resolution "represents real progress and adds momentum to finish the job of protecting kids online." Florida also did not settle, and plans to keep litigating. "The payouts to the states are peanuts compared to the profound harms Meta’s profit-driven addictive features have inflicted on our children," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement. "We’ll see them at trial." Meta agreed over the next decade to restrict teenagers' use of Facebook and Instagram to **two hours a day** and block all usage from **midnight to 6 a.m.**, absent parental consent. These limits could be tightened if the social media platforms Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt similar terms. Meta will also disable most push notifications to teenage users during school hours of **8 a.m. to 3 p.m.** and enhance measures to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content. The settlement does not require Meta to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising. Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. The total payout represents about three to four months of profit for the Menlo Park, California-based company. "Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta," the company said in a blog post. "We want to get this right for parents and teens." Shares of Meta were up **1.1%** in afternoon trading.

Meta agrees to pay $18 billion to settle lawsuits over children's social media addiction

Meta settles with nearly all U.S. states

State payouts and Cambridge Analytica claims

Judge signals approval as other cases continue

Restrictions on teen use and payments tied to rival safeguards

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