Meta Agrees to Settle Child Safety Case for $18 Billion

Meta Platforms has reached a settlement worth up to $18 billion with a coalition of 29 US states regarding child safety concerns on Facebook and Instagram. Following a trial that commenced last week, the social media giant has agreed to both a significant financial payout and the implementation of new restrictions on how underage users interact with its platforms. The settlement terms dictate that Meta will pay approximately $12.7 billion to the states in annual installments over the next decade. The remaining balance of the settlement will only be released if competing platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube, agree to adopt similar safety restrictions.

Under the new agreement, Meta will introduce a strict two-hour daily limit for users under 18 years old across Facebook and Instagram, though this limit will exclude messaging features. Underage users will also receive specific reminders after 60 and 90 minutes of daily use, alongside prompts during any session that lasts longer than 15 minutes. Furthermore, teenagers will be blocked from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 am, and push notifications will be restricted between 10 pm and 7 am, as well as during school hours.

In addition to enhanced age-assurance measures, Meta will allow younger users to opt for non-algorithmic, chronological feeds from accounts they follow. Parents utilizing the company’s supervision tools will also be able to set this as the default preference. The platforms will hide like counts and other post reaction metrics for young users and introduce new in-app reporting tools for inappropriate or illegal content. Most of these restrictions are set to remain in place for ten years, though the daily limit and overnight blocks will initially apply for five. If TikTok and YouTube follow suit, these limits would extend to 10 years and could further restrict users to just 60 minutes per platform daily. Consequently, Meta expects to record a $10 billion legal expense in Q3, a charge not previously accounted for in its earlier financial guidance.