Meta announced on Wednesday that it has offered to pay approximately $18 billion to settle a lawsuit filed in 2023 by the California Attorney General and 51 other state attorneys general, territories and the District of Columbia. The complaint alleged that Meta illegally collected data on users under 18 and designed its platforms to encourage excessive use, while also misrepresenting those risks. Meta has admitted no wrongdoing.

If the settlement is approved by a judge, Meta would implement a series of changes for accounts held by users under 18, including a two‑hour daily time limit across Facebook and Instagram, night‑mode restrictions from midnight to 6 a.m., muted notifications during school hours (8 a.m.–3 p.m.), prompts every 15 minutes urging users to stop scrolling, an option to disable video autoplay, default hiding of likes and reactions, and a block on extreme makeup filters. The plan also provides teens with an optional non‑algorithmic feed that is not personalized by recommendation systems.

Direct messages on Facebook and Instagram would remain exempt from time limits and night‑mode restrictions, as Meta said it wants to allow teens to stay connected with friends and family. The $18 billion would be paid in annual installments over ten years and distributed to the jurisdictions involved, with the funds intended for mental‑health initiatives for children.

Meta said it would withhold 30 % of the settlement — about $5.3 billion — until YouTube and TikTok agree to adopt similar daily limits, night‑mode measures and age‑assurance requirements. If those conditions are not met, the payment would be reduced to roughly $12.7 billion, and the time commitments for Meta’s teen safeguards would be shortened to five years. Meta’s legal chief C.J. Mahoney called on industry peers to adopt the framework, stating that the measures would only be effective if all platforms participate.

Forrester principal analyst Kate Winick described the settlement as the largest penalty ever imposed on a social‑media platform and noted that its concessions are consistent with actions taken in other jurisdictions. She said the broader problem of teen exposure to harmful content remains, and that changing what content is shown to young users continues to be a major challenge.