Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook and Instagram, agreed Wednesday to settle a wide-ranging social media addiction lawsuit with the state of California and several other states. “The settlement includes a payment of approximately $18 billion, which can be used to fund youth online safety initiatives, among other state priorities,” Meta said in a statement. The court filing says the company “denies the allegations against it and that it has any liability to the plaintiffs,” which are a collection of 29 states. As part of the agreement, “Meta agrees to establish daily limits and blocks on nighttime use for teenage users,” as well as “enhanced age assurance measures to prevent children from accessing the platform or age-restricted content available on the platform,” the court filing also says. Under the agreement, teen accounts would default to settings that limit cumulative usage on Facebook and Instagram to two hours per day. The company said teens would need parental permission to turn off the two-hour limit. Meta also agreed to hide likes on teens’ posts by default and block what it called “extreme makeup filters.” The company said teens will also be able to “choose a non-algorithmic feed, one that is not personalized by our recommendation systems, as the default.” Teenage users will also be able to turn off video autoplay. The agreement also requires the company to create “additional tools to help parents and guardians protect their children online.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the lawsuit, said in a statement that the plaintiffs had “secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our children and will make a big difference for children and their families.” “Do it in a few months,” Bonta said. In a separate statement, Meta’s chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, said that “the framework we have negotiated will allow parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms.” The company also called on competing social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube to follow suit. “Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution. Therefore, we are calling on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework immediately,” Mahoney said. The announced agreement will require the approval of a judge. The settlement comes a day after Instagram boss Adam Mosseri took the stand in California. Karl Mondon/AFP via Getty Images In the case, attorneys general from states including California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accused Meta of harming children with its social media products, which they said were designed to be addictive. They also accused Meta of violating federal privacy and consumer protection laws. The tech company’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, helped fuel a national mental health crisis among teens and children, according to the states. Meanwhile, Meta maintained the position that states were cherry-picking certain features and ignoring safety tools it has created for young users, including teen accounts, which automatically become private, plus other tools like time limit reminders, parental monitoring capabilities, and restrictions on who can contact teens and what content they can view. The lawsuit was just one of several Meta has faced with similar claims. In March, a New Mexico jury and judge fined Meta more than $900 million after the state’s attorney general argued its platforms created a public nuisance. In California, a state court found Meta and Google liable after a young woman said the tech companies, among others, contributed to her deteriorating mental health. In some of the previous cases, other social media companies chose to settle while Meta continued to fight in court. Meta said his agreement was part of an agreement with 52 attorneys general across the country, going well beyond the states involved in the California litigation.
