Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 29 U.S. states on Wednesday, ending a five‑day trial that alleged the company harmed children through data collection under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The case centered on COPPA, a law enacted nearly three decades ago that restricts the collection of personal information from children under 13. The plaintiffs argued that Meta gathered data from minors without adequate consent.

The settlement, which does not admit wrongdoing, requires Meta to impose a two‑hour daily usage limit for identified teen accounts, mute notifications between midnight and 6 a.m. and during school hours, and hide likes for teenage users. The company also will enhance tools to identify child users, a process expected to take up to one year to roll out fully. Internal documents showed Meta was aware that opt‑in safety features often had low adoption, and some executives said the firm considered paying fines rather than changing practices. Whistleblower Arturo Bejar, a former Instagram engineer, said accountability must be based on results, not on announced measures. The settlement avoids a potential maximum penalty of about $1.4 trillion, calculated from a hypothetical scenario of daily use over a 12‑year period. While Meta’s revenue depends on social media advertising, the company has focused recent resources on artificial intelligence. The agreement includes provisions that other platforms, such as TikTok and Snapchat, may adopt similar safety settings if the industry moves toward stricter child protection.

The rollout of the new safety features will begin within six months, but their effectiveness will be judged by independent assessment and by whether other social media companies follow suit. The long‑term impact on user engagement and on regulatory approaches remains uncertain.