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Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to an approximately $18 billion settlement with California and other states over allegations that its social media platforms were designed to keep children and teenagers hooked.
The sweeping agreement would also force Meta to make some of its biggest changes yet to how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram, including default daily time limits, nighttime blocks, stronger age verification and new controls for parents.
Meta denies wrongdoing and said in court filings that it does not accept liability for the states’ claims.
Under the proposed settlement, teen accounts would default to a two-hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram. Teenagers would need permission from a parent or guardian to disable the restriction.
The company would also make several other changes aimed at reducing the amount of time young users spend on its platforms and limiting exposure to potentially harmful content.
Major restrictions on teen accounts
The settlement would require Meta to establish blocks on nighttime use for teenage accounts and introduce enhanced age-assurance measures intended to prevent children from accessing the platforms or age-restricted content.
Teen users would also have several features disabled or restricted by default.
Those changes include hiding likes on teenagers’ posts, blocking what Meta described as “extreme makeup filters” and allowing teens to select a non-algorithmic feed that is not personalized through Meta’s recommendation systems.
Teenagers would also be able to turn off autoplay video.
The agreement would require Meta to develop additional tools for parents and guardians to monitor and control how their children use the platforms.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the litigation, described the agreement as a major victory for children and families.
“Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months,” Bonta said.
Meta denies liability but agrees to sweeping changes
Despite agreeing to the settlement, Meta continues to deny the allegations against it.
The court filing states that Meta “denies the allegations against it and that it has any liability to the Plaintiffs,” a group of 29 states involved in the litigation.
Meta Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney said the agreement would give parents more control over how their children access the company’s platforms.
The company also urged other social media companies, including TikTok and YouTube, to adopt similar restrictions.
“Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution,” Mahoney said.
The settlement still requires approval from a judge before it can take effect.
Lawsuit accused Meta of fueling youth mental health crisis
The agreement follows a closely watched trial in California in which attorneys general from states including California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accused Meta of deliberately designing its products to encourage compulsive use among young people.
The states argued that Facebook and Instagram contributed to a broader mental health crisis among children and teenagers and accused Meta of violating federal privacy and consumer protection laws.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testified in the case just one day before the settlement was announced.
Meta has pushed back against those claims, arguing that regulators and plaintiffs have focused on individual features while ignoring protections the company has introduced for younger users.
Those protections include Teen Accounts, which automatically make teen profiles private, as well as time-limit reminders, parental supervision tools and restrictions on who can contact teenage users and what content they can view.
Settlement comes after mounting legal pressure
The agreement comes as Meta faces increasing legal pressure over allegations involving children’s safety and social media addiction.
Earlier this month, a New Mexico jury and judge ordered Meta to pay more than $900 million after the state’s attorney general argued that the company’s platforms created a public nuisance.
A California state court has also found Meta and Google liable after a young woman alleged that the companies and others contributed to the deterioration of her mental health.
Other social media companies have settled similar cases, while Meta has continued fighting many of the claims in court.
Meta said Wednesday that the new settlement framework was reached with 52 attorneys general nationwide, making the agreement broader than the California litigation itself.
What comes next
The settlement represents a potentially major shift in how teenagers interact with Facebook and Instagram, but its final terms still depend on judicial approval.
If approved, the agreement would put Meta under pressure to rapidly implement restrictions that could significantly reduce teenagers’ time on its platforms and give parents greater control over their children’s accounts.
The deal also puts pressure on Meta’s competitors. With teenagers routinely moving between multiple social media platforms, the company is arguing that restrictions on one service will have limited effect unless other major platforms adopt similar protections.
For Meta, the settlement could end one of the most consequential legal battles over its treatment of young users — while imposing an enormous financial cost and forcing substantial changes to the way its platforms operate.
