Meta agrees to settle teen addiction lawsuit for up to $16.7 billion

• Meta agreed to settle a teen addiction lawsuit for up to $18 billion on Wednesday.
• States brought the suit against the social media giant in 2023.
• Meta agreed to make changes to its products, including implementing a 2-hour daily limit for teens.

Some changes are coming for teen users of Meta platforms.

The owner of Facebook and Instagram agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging it designed social media platforms to addict young people for up to $18 billion on Wednesday, according to court filings and a Meta blog post.

The settlement includes several new regulations and restrictions for teen users of Meta’s platforms, including a 2-hour daily limit and a “default block” on app usage at night.

In a blog post, Meta said that pending judicial approval, protections and controls will “automatically apply” to under-18s on Instagram and Facebook. The federal judge overseeing the trial has not yet approved the settlement, though Meta and the plaintiffs have agreed to the terms.

“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company wrote in the blog post. “We want to get this right for parents and teens, and that’s why we partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard.”

Meta said more than $5 billion of their settlement is contingent upon YouTube and TikTok each paying about $5 billion, and implementing similar restrictions for teen users.

Representatives for YouTube and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent Wednesday morning.

Meta’s stock dipped by less than 1% immediately following news of the agreement.

The settlement allocates money to 47 states, the District of Columbia, and several American territories.

“We have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press release.

The suit was brought in 2023, alleging that Meta designed its platforms to encourage excessive use by young people and that it illegally collected and used data from users under 13. The plaintiffs said that in doing so, Meta violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, among other laws.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not testify in the trial, which began on August 18. The settlement will mean he won’t have to testify.

“Today’s settlement is significant, not just because of the price tag but because it suggests Meta understands its arguments are not playing well in court,” Minda Smiley, a senior analyst at EMARKETER, said.

“That being said, changes Meta will make for users under 18 don’t appear to be incredibly drastic. Many are optional and critics will surely say they don’t go far enough. The settlement is a win for Meta in that way.”

Here’s a rundown of the new restrictions unveiled in the settlement and how they work.

Screen time

Users of Instagram and Facebook who are under 18 will have a daily time limit of 2 hours, according to court documents. The limit can only be lifted by a parent.

The daily limit will drop to one hour should YouTube and TikTok agree to “similar terms,” Bonta said in the release.

The time limit does not apply to long-form content or use of Meta’s messaging platforms, according to court documents. The limit resets each day at 12 a.m.

Time spent scrolling on Facebook or Instagram counts cumulatively toward the total 2 hours, Meta said, adding that it would track users’ time across multiple accounts.

Night mode

Meta said it would institute a “default block” on Instagram and Facebook from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. for users under 18.

“This means teens will not be able to post or view their Feed, Stories, Explore, or Reels, for example,” the company wrote in its blog post.

From 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., push notifications that do not relate to safety or device security will be disabled for teen users.

If other social media platforms agree to similar terms, the nighttime block will expand to cover 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

School mode

Push alerts on Meta platforms will be halted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This is a developing story and will be updated.