Technology
Meta agrees to pay up to $18 billion to settle state lawsuits over youth social media harms
The social media company resolved claims brought by state attorneys general and agreed to enforce new default restrictions on Instagram and Facebook accounts for teens.
The short version
- Meta reached a settlement with state attorneys general to resolve allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive and harmful to children.
- The agreement requires Meta to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years and introduce default safety restrictions for users under 18, including screen time limits and nighttime app blocks.
- A portion of the settlement payout is conditioned on competing platforms YouTube and TikTok adopting matching safety restrictions and funding.
- Child safety advocates and digital rights groups expressed mixed reactions, raising concerns over caregiver burdens and privacy risks tied to enhanced age verification.
Key facts
- Meta agreed to settle lawsuits brought by state attorneys general alleging the company intentionally designed addictive features and illegally collected data from children, denying all wrongdoing.[Engadget · Wired · Scientific American]
- The proposed settlement involves up to $18 billion in total funding, with roughly $12.7 billion guaranteed to states over 10 years and $5.3 billion contingent on competitors YouTube and TikTok adopting matching youth limits.[Engadget · TechCrunch · Scientific American]
- Meta agreed to implement default daily two-hour usage limits, a nighttime block between midnight and 6 a.m., and push notification mutes during U.S. school hours for teen accounts.[Engadget · Wired · TechCrunch]
- The platform changes for minors also include hiding like and reaction counts by default, providing non-algorithmic feed options, disabling video autoplay, and banning extreme makeup filters.[Engadget · Wired · TechCrunch]
- Meta agreed to independent monitoring of its compliance and age-verification systems, which must maintain strict false-positive rate limits.[Engadget · The Verge · Scientific American]
- US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers must still grant final judicial approval to the proposed agreement.[Engadget · CNET · Wired · TechCrunch]
What remains uncertain
- It remains uncertain whether competitors YouTube and TikTok will accept Meta's invitation to adopt identical usage limits, which determines whether the additional $5.3 billion of the settlement payout will be triggered.[Engadget · TechCrunch · Scientific American]
- Digital rights groups and mental health experts questioned how effectively Meta's technical changes and age-verification measures will work in practice without creating privacy risks or placing excessive burden on parents.[Wired · Scientific American]
Sources
- The Meta Settlement Will Put Limits on Instagram for Teens. They’re Still VulnerableWired metered
- All the ways Instagram and Facebook are changing for teensThe Verge
- Meta agrees to sweeping changes to restrict kids’ access to its apps as part of settlement with statesTechCrunch
- Meta will pay up to $18 billion to settle states' lawsuit alleging harms to young usersEngadget
- Meta to pay $18 billion and make sweeping app changes to settle social media harms lawsuitScientific American metered
- Meta Will Pay Up to $16.7 Billion to Settle Its Social Media Harms Case—and That’s Not AllWired metered
- Meta settles for $18 billion in lawsuit brought by 29 states over social media harms to childrenTechCrunch
- Meta agrees to heavy restrictions on teen users in major lawsuit settlementThe Verge
- Meta to Pay Up to $16.68 Billion to Settle With US States on Teen Social Media AddictionCNET