Meta settles in US states lawsuit on teen user addiction

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has reached a settlement in a lawsuit in California brought by a coalition of 47 US states. The settlement, which requires court approval, involves a potential payout of up to $16.7 billion (around €14.3 billion) and new restrictions on teen usage of Meta's social media platforms.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the agreement, stating it brings "real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children." However, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones argued that Meta intentionally put young people's health at risk and that the changes will stop this harmful behavior. The agreement does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing from Meta, which maintains it never deceived the public about its design features.

Key changes include a hard cap on daily usage time (2 hours across all Meta platforms), a 'School Mode' that restricts notifications between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., a ban on overnight use, and a minimum account age of 13 in most US states. Meta also agreed to identify and remove younger users, offer under-18s a non-personalized feed, and respond to 90% of teen reports of harmful content within six hours.

The settlement will be paid in annual installments over ten years, with approximately 70% distributed to participating states and the remainder released only after specific conditions are met. Meta called on TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures and pledged to work with industry peers to create an industry-wide solution.