Meta gets out of legal fight

Meta settles with states over social media addiction claims

Meta and a coalition of state attorneys general reached a settlement in the high-profile trial accusing the company of designing its platforms to be addictive for young users.

The proposed settlement, later announced by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), will require Meta to make various changes to its apps, such as Facebook and Instagram, and pay up to $17 billion to the states over 10 years.

Changes include default daily time limits for users under 18, as well as restrictions on use and notifications at night or during the school day, according to Bonta.

“Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months. We are talking about time limits, stopping notifications during school, a block on the app during critical overnight hours, bans on plastic surgery filters, and so much more,” Bonta wrote in a press release Wednesday.

The lawsuit was first filed in 2023 by a group of 29 states attorney general, but the settlement was reached with 47 U.S. states, three territories and the District of Columbia . The settlement is awaiting a judge’s approval.

Separately, Meta will pay Texas over $1 billion over similar allegations , bringing the company’s total sum to just over $18 billion.

California and 28 other states alleged the Facebook and Instagram parent company designed and implemented harmful features that encourage “excessive use” in teens and younger children.

The suit also accused Meta of misleading the public about their apps’ mental and physical health risks and routinely collecting the data of users younger than 13 without parental consent.

The settlement will effectively stop the trial in California, during which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was expected to take stand.

Meta’s chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, said the settlement includes a “new set of rules governing teens’ use of social media” and called on other industry competitors to also implement a similar framework.

“The framework we’ve negotiated will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platform,” Mahoney said in an emailed statement. “This framework will only work if all our peers join us. Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution.”

Mahoney specifically called on TikTok and YouTube to follow “Meta’s lead.”

Read the takeaways from the settlement at TheHill.com

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter , we’re Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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