Meta Platforms has reached a settlement with states across the United States, agreeing to significant modifications to Facebook and Instagram and a potential payout of up to $18 billion US. The settlement, arising from claims that the company engineered the apps to foster addiction among children, provided misleading safety information to consumers, and improperly gathered personal data from children on its platforms, was finalized during a California federal trial, marking a crucial examination of allegations about social media companies negatively impacting young users.
Despite settling, the California-based company refuted any wrongdoing. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser emphasized the importance of safeguarding children, stating that the settlement’s provisions go beyond court mandates. As part of the settlement terms, Meta committed to limiting teenagers’ daily usage of Facebook and Instagram to two hours, with no access allowed between midnight and 6 a.m. unless parental approval is granted. These restrictions may become stricter if other social media firms adopt similar regulations.
Furthermore, Meta will bolster measures to prevent minors from accessing age-restricted content. Notably, the settlement does not compel Meta to forgo personalized recommendations or targeted advertising nor address specific troubling content identified by Meta researchers, such as posts on Instagram affecting users’ body image.
The total settlement sum, amounting to about three to four months of Meta’s profits, includes over $16.7 billion US allocated to 47 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Texas separately settled for over $1 billion US.
The resolution also settles lawsuits from California, Illinois, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C., related to privacy concerns stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted preliminary approval for the settlement, excluding Texas, and commended it as a positive step forward, indicating contentment with avoiding further trial proceedings.
The litigation against Meta is part of a broader legal offensive by states, local bodies, school districts, and individuals accusing social media companies of exacerbating a nationwide youth mental health crisis. The trial in the federal court in Oakland, California, covered claims from several states alleging Meta violated consumer protection laws and the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by surreptitiously collecting personal data from underage users.
Several other tech giants, including Snapchat’s parent Snap, YouTube’s parent Alphabet, and TikTok’s parent ByteDance, face numerous ongoing lawsuits at both federal and state levels over allegations of intentionally designing platforms to be addictive to young users. These cases are consolidated before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, with additional lawsuits pending in state courts.