Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle claims brought by 29 US states alleging that Facebook and Instagram failed to adequately protect children.
The agreement, reached on Wednesday, brought an unexpectedly early end to a closely watched legal case. The trial had been expected to continue for weeks, but proceedings lasted only five days and ended before Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify.
The case formally focused on children’s online privacy and the company’s handling of data belonging to users under 13. It was brought under the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a law introduced nearly three decades ago, before today’s major social media platforms existed.
However, the case also placed Meta’s broader approach to child safety under intense scrutiny.
Evidence raises questions over safety measures
During the proceedings, former Instagram employee and whistleblower Arturo Bejar alleged that he had previously warned Meta executives about harmful experiences affecting children on the platform but that sufficient action was not taken.
Other evidence presented during the case included internal material concerning the company’s approach to regulatory compliance and the use of safety features.
The legal battle also highlighted the enormous financial risk Meta could have faced if the states had prevailed. Some calculations put a theoretical maximum penalty at around $1.4 trillion, although such a figure was considered highly unlikely.
The proposed settlement of up to $18 billion, spread over 10 years, is considerably lower than the potential exposure Meta faced.
The company has not admitted wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
New restrictions for younger users
Under the settlement, Meta will introduce additional protections for teenage users on Facebook and Instagram.
Among the measures is a default two-hour daily limit across the two platforms for users identified as teenagers. Direct messages will not count toward that limit.
Notifications will also be muted between midnight and 06:00, as well as during school hours from 08:00 to 15:00 on school days.
Meta will also hide likes on posts and other content from teenage users. Most of the new measures are expected to become default settings or available options within six months.
The company plans to take longer to strengthen systems designed to identify children using its platforms, with those changes expected to be introduced over the course of a year.
Pressure on the wider social media industry
The agreement comes as technology companies face growing scrutiny over the impact of social media on children and teenagers.
Meta operates some of the world’s largest social platforms, and advertising generated through Facebook and Instagram remains a major source of its revenue despite the company’s increasing focus on artificial intelligence.
The changes could also put pressure on competitors such as TikTok and Snapchat to introduce similar protections, particularly if regulators in other countries seek to adopt comparable measures.
The bigger question is whether stricter limits and reduced engagement features will change how young people use social media.
For Bejar, the former Instagram engineer who testified against his former employer, the real measure will be whether the new safeguards actually improve children’s experiences rather than simply adding more safety features.
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