Meta Reaches Up to $17.1 Billion Settlement Over Allegations Facebook and Instagram Addicted Minors

Meta has agreed to pay as much as $17.1 billion to resolve claims that the technology company deliberately engineered Facebook and Instagram to foster dependency among children and misrepresented the safety of its platforms to the public.

According to court documents filed on Wednesday, the agreement ends a legal challenge brought by 29 state attorneys general, averting a high-profile courtroom showdown over accusations that social media firms have caused harm to young users. Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg had faced the prospect of being called to testify had the case proceeded to trial.

The states alleged that Meta breached consumer protection statutes and unlawfully gathered personal data belonging to minors without securing parental authorization. Meta has rejected the allegations, maintaining that it has implemented meaningful safeguards for young people on its services.

STATE SUES SNAPCHAT OVER ALLEGED ADDICTIVE FEATURES AND ADULT CONTENT FOR KIDS

A computer screen displays the Meta logo while a mobile phone in the foreground shows Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg. Meta will lay off around 8,000 workers, the company said in a memo to employees. (Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Under the terms of the settlement, Meta will pay a minimum of $12.1 billion over the next decade, according to the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. The total could rise to $17.1 billion if other leading social media companies adopt comparable child safety standards within a defined period.

In a statement released Wednesday, Meta characterized the agreement as an extension of its ongoing initiatives to safeguard teenagers and to expand the tools available to parents managing their children’s online activity.

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“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said. “We want to get this right for parents and teens, and that’s why we partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard.”

As part of the settlement, Meta committed to enforcing daily time limits for younger users, restricting access to its applications during overnight hours, silencing notifications while school is in session, and expanding parental oversight features.

In this photo illustration, Facebook and Instagram logos are seen on a smartphone and Meta logo on a pc screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Meta also called on TikTok and YouTube to implement analogous restrictions, contending that platform-specific safeguards will have limited effectiveness because teenagers frequently move between multiple applications.

“For meaningful progress to happen, we urge TikTok and YouTube to join us and state attorneys general in adopting this new standard, to ensure teens use social media in a healthy and responsible way,” Meta said.

This is a developing news story; check back for updates.

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