Meta has agreed to major changes to Facebook and Instagram as part of a settlement with California and 28 other US states over allegations that its platforms harmed and encouraged addictive behavior among teenagers.
Under the agreement, Meta will introduce additional protections for teenage users across the United States, including daily usage limits, restrictions on notifications during school hours and overnight access to its apps. The company will also restrict certain plastic surgery filters aimed at young users.
The settlement could require Meta to pay up to $18 billion, with the money distributed among the participating states over 10 years, subject to court approval. California is expected to receive between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion, while Colorado would receive about $615 million.
The states had accused Meta of deliberately designing features that encouraged young people to spend excessive amounts of time on its platforms. They also alleged that the company collected data from children under 13 without proper parental consent.
Meta has denied wrongdoing and said the settlement would be more effective if other major social media platforms adopted similar safeguards. The company called for TikTok, Snap and YouTube to implement comparable measures.
The agreement comes as Meta and other social media companies face thousands of lawsuits from families, schools and government officials over alleged harms linked to social media use among children and teenagers.
