Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years to settle lawsuits brought by 29 US states over allegations that Facebook and Instagram harmed children.
The agreement also requires Meta to introduce additional safety measures for teenage users, including daily usage limits and overnight restrictions. The company is expected to begin implementing the changes within the coming months.
The settlement brings a major federal case in California closer to an end, although Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is yet to give final approval. On Wednesday, she indicated that she was “inclined to grant it” and paused the trial while reviewing the terms of the agreement.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023, accused Meta of violating federal and state laws and contributing to harm among children through its social media platforms. Meta has consistently denied the allegations.
Under the proposed settlement, the funds paid by Meta will be used by participating states to support youth online safety programmes and other initiatives.
The total settlement could reach $18 billion, with 30 per cent of the amount dependent on YouTube and TikTok adopting similar child-safety measures.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the agreement would allow authorities to secure safety reforms that could otherwise have taken years to achieve through lengthy court proceedings and appeals.
“Instead of getting tied up in years of trials and appeals, we have secured the changes we were after,” Bonta said.
He added that most of the measures agreed upon would be introduced within months.
The settlement covers 48 states, the District of Columbia and three US territories. Together, 51 states and territories have agreed to a settlement valued at about $17.1 billion, while Texas reached a separate agreement worth approximately $1 billion.
New Mexico has chosen to continue its legal action, while Florida has also rejected the proposed settlement.
The agreement has faced criticism from Meta whistleblower Kelly Stonelake, who argued that the company should have taken steps to protect children without having to face legal action.
She said Meta had spent years rejecting concerns about the safety of its platforms while maintaining that it could regulate itself effectively.
Experts have also raised concerns about how effectively some of the proposed measures can be implemented, particularly age verification.
Professor Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey said daily usage limits and overnight restrictions would be relatively straightforward to introduce but noted that their effectiveness would depend on reliable methods of identifying teenage users.
Dr Holly Bear of the University of Oxford described the measures as a positive first step but cautioned that they would not completely address the risks young people face online, particularly because many teenagers use several social media platforms.
The settlement could increase pressure on other major social media companies, including TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, to strengthen protections for younger users.
By : Rachael Djabakie