Meta settles social media addiction trial with states for up to $17B

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, according to court filings published Wednesday.

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 proposed settlement with 52 state attorneys general will need to be approved by a judge, and settles claims filed by 47 states.

California and 28 other states sued Meta in 2023, alleging 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 complaint at the center of this trial was originally filed by 29 states, but only covered the first four: California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. The states were seeking a $1.4 trillion penalty.

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.”

As part of the settlement, Meta agreed to set a default daily time limit of two hours for users under 18 that can only be lifted by a parent, Bonta said. If other social media firms agree to similar terms, the daily time limit will drop to one hour.

The company will also institute a nighttime block between midnight and 6 a.m. for users under 18. Like the daily limit, this can only be lifted by a parent and should other social media firms agree, the nighttime block will change to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Notifications will also be blocked for minors from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and during the school day.

In addition to time limits, Meta will roll out an “enhanced” way for teens to report potentially harmful content. Meta will be required to respond to 90 percent of those reports within six hours.

A display of the number of likes or reactions will also be banned for minors, along with the plastic surgery image filters.

Meta currently allows users 13 and older and will be maintaining age assurance measures to detect users under 18 and remove users under 13.

Attorneys general from across the country celebrated the settlement Wednesday morning.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) said Big Tech “is finally being held accountable for the harm” on kids’ mental health and safety. The settlement will dish out more than $500 million to New Jersey, she added.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman (R) said the Bluegrass State is expected to receive $358 million under the settlement, but added, “While Meta is certainly paying for its conduct, this was never just about the money.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) said his state will receive nearly $615 million over the next nine years, which will go towards youth mental health and safety initiatives.

The landmark trial came just months after Meta lost in two other kids safety trials in California and New Mexico.

The cases focused on the platform design rather than the content posted to social media, making it easier for prosecutors to get around Section 230, which protects technology firms from being held legally liable for third-party or user content.

Section 230 has largely shielded several social media firms in lawsuits related to the content posted on their platforms.