US-Prozess: Meta schließt Milliarden-Vergleich – weitreichende Änderungen bei Facebook und Instagram

In a landmark lawsuit addressing the dangers of social media for children, Meta has reached a settlement with 48 US states, agreeing to pay around $18 billion. The deal, outlined in court documents on Wednesday, marks a "monumental victory for the public health of young people," according to Brian Schwalb, the District of Columbia Attorney General.

Meta is accused of knowingly exploiting children for profit and subsequently lying about it. As part of the settlement, the company has committed to implementing extensive changes in the apps of Instagram and Facebook, which will primarily affect users under 18 years old. Users under 13 years old will be prohibited from using Meta services, and their accounts will be deactivated.

The company plans to introduce a combined daily time limit of two hours for children, with mandatory warnings after 15 minutes of continuous use, as well as reminders after 60 and 90 minutes. Nighttime restrictions will limit children's access to feeds from midnight to 6 a.m., while blocking notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Furthermore, social media apps will no longer send push notifications during school hours, and younger users will no longer see the number of "likes" or reactions on their posts by default.

Meta also agrees to stricter age verification for young users and more stringent content controls. The changes are only binding in the 48 participating US states. Initially, 29 states had filed the lawsuit, but all US states have now joined the agreement, except New Mexico and Florida. None of the new provisions are intended to apply in a non-participating US state or any international jurisdiction, according to the court.

Experts expect the agreement to serve as a model for Europe, as the EU Commission has intensified its action against US tech giants in recent months.