Meta to pay $18b to settle states' teen safety lawsuit

OAKLAND — Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion over a decade and impose sweeping new restrictions on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under a settlement with nearly all US states over allegations that the company designed its platforms to hook young users.

The main settlement, approved by a federal judge, resolves claims by 29 states that Meta engineered its platforms to hook children, misled the public about the risks and unlawfully collected data from children under 13.

Texas reached a separate agreement with Meta, bringing the total potential payout to about $18 billion.

Meta agreed to automatically block teenagers from accessing Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 am local time without parental consent.

Teenage accounts will also be capped by default at two hours of cumulative daily use across Meta's apps, although time spent messaging or watching long-form video will not count toward the limit.

Meta said the agreement could serve as a template for the wider industry and called on competitors, including TikTok and YouTube, to adopt similar measures. If competing platforms make equivalent commitments, the overnight lockout would last from 10 pm to 7 am, while the daily allowance would fall to 60 minutes per app, capped at two hours in total.

An independent auditor jointly chosen by Meta and the states and paid for by the company will monitor compliance for 10 years.

The settlement will also require Meta to strengthen age verification and disable certain features for teens that could encourage excessive use.

Allegations denied

The agreement does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Meta, which has consistently denied the allegations. It ends the trial in its second week, after testimony from Instagram head Adam Mosseri and other witnesses about the effectiveness of the company's teen safety measures.

The settlement comes as governments worldwide step up efforts to limit children's exposure to social media risks.

The European Commission said it expected Meta to address the "addictive design" of its platforms in Europe and offer similar commitments to protect children in the EU.

Australia, which introduced a minimum age of 16 for social media late last year, said the agreement showed that platforms have tools to better protect young users.

Poland's Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski asked the European Commission to fine Meta 250 million euros ($291 million), citing inadequate controls over fraudulent advertisements.

Meta said it was investing in technologies and partnerships with industry and law enforcement to find and remove scammers.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA