Meta agreed to implement usage limits and other safeguards for teenage users as part of a settlement that resolves a multi‑state lawsuit alleging that its platforms were addictive and contributed to mental‑health issues among minors. The agreement includes up to $18 billion in payments to the states and awaits court approval.

The lawsuit, filed by California and 28 other states, claimed that Instagram and Facebook were designed to be habit‑forming and that the companies collected data on children under 13 without parental consent in violation of federal and state law.

Under the settlement, Meta will set daily usage caps for minors, block access during nighttime hours, and prohibit certain appearance‑related filters. The company denied wrongdoing but said the changes aim to improve child safety. The fund will be distributed to the states over ten years, with California receiving between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion and Colorado about $615 million. Meta’s chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, said the framework will only work if other social‑media companies adopt similar measures and called on TikTok, Snap and YouTube to follow suit. The trial in Oakland, which had been scheduled for several weeks, ended after four days of testimony, including statements from former Meta engineer Arturo Béjar, who said company leaders were aware of the risks. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri was questioned about the company’s public statements on teen usage and declined to release detailed statistics.

The settlement represents the first compulsory redesign of core features on Meta’s platforms for U.S. users and leaves uncertainty about whether the industry will broadly adopt the required changes. Additional lawsuits remain pending.