Meta agrees to up to $18 billion settlement with states over child safety claims
Meta has agreed to pay up to roughly $18 billion and make significant design changes to Facebook and Instagram as part of a settlement with a coalition of US states, resolving a lawsuit that alleged the company engineered its platforms to keep teenagers hooked and collected data from children under 13 without parental consent. The agreement, filed in court on Wednesday, requires judicial approval and does not include an admission of wrongdoing, liability or violation of any laws, according to reports.
The case was filed in 2023 by 29 state attorneys general. The trial began on Aug. 18 in federal court in Oakland, California, but the parties agreed to settle just over a week later, according to The Conversation. Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey had been seeking extensive financial damages plus changes to how the company operates its platforms, as reported by the Associated Press and WDIV ClickOnDetroit.
Settlement terms
Under the agreement, Meta will pay roughly 7 billion to 47 states, plus the District of Columbia and three US territories, in ten annual instalments, as well as $1 billion to Texas as part of a separate legal agreement, according to The Conversation. An additional 3 billion would be paid only if TikTok, YouTube and Snap also reach settlements with the states, the outlet reported. NPR News put the total potential payout at 1 billion, while The Irish Times reported 68 billion and The Conversation cited roughly $18 billion.
Meta also agreed to impose default daily limits and night-time blocks for teenage users, bolster age-assurance systems to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content, and provide extra tools for parents and guardians, according to The Irish Times. The Conversation added that the agreement includes a night mode blocking access from midnight to 6am by default, a two-hour daily cap across both apps combined, muted notifications during school hours, hidden "like" counts by default, and turned-off "cosmetic procedure filters." Teens must be offered a non-personalised feed, every user must be age-checked within a year, and Meta is barred from making misleading claims about its safety features, that outlet reported. An auditor will report for five years.
Context and reactions
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, one of the four state attorneys general who filed the case, said in a statement: "This week, we're in court with the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history. We'll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable."
Meta defended its record. "We are proud of our record in protecting teens on our platforms and the amount of effort that we've put into developing protections over the years, even before these cases were ever filed, and continuing to the present day," the company said, as reported by the Associated Press.
Meta chief legal officer J. Mahoney said in a statement: "The framework we've negotiated will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms." Mahoney also said: "Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution."
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference: "This is an industry-wide problem. Meta is part of the industry, a major player in the industry, but there's a bigger ecosystem," according to NPR News.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal ) and Marsha Blackburn ), lead sponsors of the Kids Online Safety Act, called the settlement "a first step toward giving kids and parents the tools they need to take back control of their online lives," NPR News reported.
Broader legal landscape
The settlement comes amid a wave of lawsuits against social media companies over claims their platforms harm young people. A Los Angeles jury in March found Meta and Google negligent in the design and operation of their platforms, awarding US$6 million to a 20-year-old woman who said her use of Instagram and YouTube caused anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia, as reported by The Straits Times. That outlet also reported that New Mexico's Attorney-General won judgments against Meta totalling US$942 million in 2026, and that public school districts have brought more than 1,300 complaints on behalf of students. Meta is appealing the Los Angeles verdict and the New Mexico verdict, The Straits Times reported.
Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google agreed in May to pay US$27 million to settle a suit brought by a rural district in Kentucky, according to The Straits Times. The next school district trial is set for February 2027, that outlet reported. TikTok reached a separate $400 million settlement with the Justice Department over claims it illegally collected kids' data, NPR News reported.