Meta settles states' child-safety claims for $18B; Florida rejects deal as "peanuts"
Meta to impose daily limit on child social media use in deal with nearly every state.
Meta has reached a $18 billion settlement to address child-safety claims across nearly every U.S. state. The agreement, which still requires court approval, ends a trial where Meta argued the states' demands exceeded $1.4 trillion. The settlement demands Meta impose daily usage limits on children using its platforms. For users under 18, a default two-hour time restriction applies, which can be overridden with parental approval.
A blackout period from midnight to 6 am is also set, and a "school mode" feature will mute notifications between 8 am and 3 pm. These measures are designed to limit overall usage across both Facebook and Instagram. The company will prompt teens after every 15 minutes of continuous screen time, as well as when they reach 60 or 90 minutes of total daily usage.
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