Meta reaches US$16.68 billion settlement over social media harms to children

Meta Platforms has agreed to a settlement of up to US$18 billion over the next decade to address claims that its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, were designed to addict children. This agreement, reached with nearly all US states, comes after a federal trial that heard allegations of harm caused to children through Meta's products and misleading information about their safety.

The settlement requires Meta to restrict teenage usage to two hours per day and block usage from midnight to 6am, unless parental consent is given. Other provisions include disabling most push notifications during school hours and improving measures to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content. The settlement does not mandate Meta to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising, and it does not address certain problematic content.

While Meta will not undergo a fundamental overhaul, these accords represent a comprehensive effort to define how the company serves young users, potentially serving as a template for resolving similar lawsuits against other social media companies.