Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to a landmark settlement worth up to about $18 billion with U.S. state attorneys general over allegations that its social-media platforms were deliberately designed to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers.
The agreement brings a major legal challenge against Meta to a close while requiring significant changes to the way Facebook and Instagram operate for users under 18. Meta has not admitted wrongdoing and continues to dispute the allegations.
The litigation originated in 2023, when 29 U.S. states sued Meta, alleging that the company had designed features on Instagram and Facebook that could encourage young people to remain on the platforms for extended periods. The states also accused Meta of misleading the public about potential risks to children and of improperly collecting personal information from underage users.
The case became part of a much wider U.S. effort to hold major technology companies accountable for alleged effects of social-media products on children and teenagers.
Meta says the agreement was reached with a bipartisan group of 52 attorneys general from states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The company says about $12.7 billion is expected to be paid under the initial portion, while roughly $5.3 billion is conditional on competing platforms, specifically TikTok and YouTube, adopting specified safety measures and making corresponding payments.
What will change on Facebook and Instagram?
The settlement requires major protections for teenagers, subject to the applicable approval and implementation process.
Among the measures are:
- A two-hour daily usage limit for teenagers, with parental involvement required to override the restriction.
- A default Night Mode that blocks access to Facebook and Instagram during overnight hours, generally from midnight to 6 a.m.
- Muted notifications during school hours, with limited exceptions for important messages and safety-related alerts.
- Prompts reminding teenagers after periods of continuous use.
- Greater use of age-assurance technology to identify users who may actually be teenagers despite entering an adult birth date.
- Default hiding of like and reaction counts for underage users.
- Additional restrictions on certain beauty and appearance-related filters.
- Greater parental supervision and controls.
- Additional protections against harmful material, including content associated with bullying, eating disorders, suicide and self-harm.
Meta has also said that teenagers will be able to use a non-personalized feed as a default experience under the new arrangement, giving parents and guardians greater control over how recommended content is presented.
Meta is also challenging TikTok and YouTube
An unusual element of the settlement is Meta's attempt to turn the agreement into an industry-wide standard.
Meta has publicly urged TikTok and YouTube to adopt comparable protections, arguing that restrictions on one social-media platform may simply push teenagers toward another.
The company says approximately 30% of its potential settlement payment of about $5.3 billion is conditional on TikTok and YouTube adopting specified safeguards and making matching payments.
That provision could make the settlement more than a financial resolution: it could become a mechanism for pressuring the wider social-media industry to impose stricter limits on minors.
The settlement represents a significant legal and regulatory development, but it should not be described as a court finding that Meta intentionally addicted children.
Those were allegations made by the states. Meta has denied wrongdoing and agreed to settle rather than continue the litigation and trial. The financial consequences are nevertheless substantial. Meta says it expects to record approximately a $10 billion legal expense in the third quarter of 2026 related to the agreement.
The settlement does not necessarily mean every new protection becomes effective everywhere immediately. Meta's announcement says the protections for under-18 users in participating U.S. states and territories are subject to the relevant judicial approval and implementation process.
The agreement also leaves broader questions unresolved, including how effectively the new restrictions will work in practice and whether similar measures should apply across the entire social-media industry.
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