Meta to pay $18 billion in landmark settlement over social media addiction claims

Meta has reached a landmark settlement with multiple states over allegations that its platforms, Facebook and Instagram, contributed to a youth mental health crisis. The social media giant has committed to paying up to $18 billion (approximately GH¢201.5 billion) and making significant changes to its platforms. This agreement brings a lengthy federal trial to a close, following years of litigation spearheaded by state attorneys general who accused Meta of putting engagement over the well-being of young users.

The financial penalty constitutes one of the largest ever imposed on a technology company. Initially, Meta will pay approximately $12 billion (approximately GH¢134.3 billion), with the total payout potentially reaching $18 billion (approximately GH¢201.5 billion) contingent on the participation of industry peers. A portion of the funds will be used to support youth online safety initiatives and other state priorities.

The litigation centered on claims that Meta intentionally engineered its products to be addictive to minors, allegedly violating federal privacy and consumer protection laws. Meta maintains that it has implemented robust safety tools for young users, while plaintiffs argue that the company knowingly exposed children to harm. The company denies these allegations and asserts that it has no liability towards the plaintiffs, a group of 29 states.

Meta argues that the states are unfairly targeting certain features and disregarding the safety tools it has developed for young users, such as teen accounts that automatically go private, time-limit reminders, parental supervision capabilities, and restrictions on interactions and content visibility.

As part of the settlement, Meta is required to implement significant product overhauls aimed at enhancing teenage users' safety. These changes include mandatory daily usage limits, nighttime usage blocks, and enhanced age assurance measures. Under the agreement, teen accounts will default to a setting that limits cumulative use across both Facebook and Instagram to two hours per day.

Parents will need to provide permission to disable this two-hour limit. Meta also agreed to hide the likes on teenagers' posts by default and block extreme makeup filters. Additionally, teens will have the option to switch to a non-algorithmic feed, which is not personalized by the platform's recommendation systems, as their default. Teens will also be able to disable autoplay videos.

The settlement mandates Meta to create additional tools to assist parents and guardians in protecting their children online. State leaders have hailed the agreement as a crucial turning point for youth online safety. Meta has urged rival platforms, TikTok and YouTube, to adopt similar restrictions, emphasizing the need for an industry-wide solution to protect teenagers from the potential harms of social media.