Meta Agrees to Landmark Teen Safety Settlement Worth Up to $18 Billion

California, United States — Meta has agreed to pay US states as much as $16.7 billion and introduce sweeping new restrictions on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram, bringing an end to a landmark trial in California over allegations that the company deliberately designed its platforms to keep young users engaged.

The settlement, approved by a federal judge on Wednesday, resolves claims brought by 29 states alleging that Meta knowingly made its platforms addictive to children and teenagers, misled the public about potential risks and unlawfully collected personal data from children under 13.

A separate agreement with Texas brings the total value of the settlements involving US states and territories to approximately $18 billion.

Major Changes to Teen Accounts

The financial payment is only one part of the agreement. Meta has accepted extensive new safeguards that could significantly alter how teenagers use its platforms.

Under the settlement, teenage accounts will be subject to an automatic overnight lockout, preventing access to Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 a.m. local time.

Teenagers will also face a default limit of two hours of cumulative daily use across Meta's applications. Messaging and long-form video viewing will not count towards the limit.

The measures are intended to reduce prolonged and potentially harmful social media use among young people.

Stricter Rules Could Follow Industry-Wide Adoption

Meta has presented the agreement as a potential framework for the wider technology industry and urged rival platforms to adopt similar protections.

C.J. Mahoney, Meta's chief legal officer, called on TikTok and YouTube to implement the framework.

If competing platforms adopt equivalent measures, the settlement's provisions would become stricter. The overnight restriction would expand to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., while teenagers would receive a 60-minute limit per app, subject to a maximum of two hours across participating platforms.

The agreement also provides for independent monitoring of Meta's compliance for 10 years. An auditor selected jointly by the company and the states will oversee implementation, with Meta covering the cost.

California and New York Among Biggest Recipients

Meta will make the settlement payments over 10 annual instalments.

California is expected to receive between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion, making it the largest recipient. New York is due to receive as much as $1.13 billion.

The states' case was among the most significant legal challenges Meta has faced over its treatment of young users. The company had warned that losing at trial could potentially have exposed it to more than $1 trillion in penalties.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the agreement as a major victory for child protection.

“Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms and will do it within months,” Bonta said.

He described the agreement as delivering “real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children.”

Meta Does Not Admit Wrongdoing

Despite the scale of the settlement, Meta has not admitted liability or wrongdoing.

The company has consistently denied the allegations, and the agreement explicitly states that it does not constitute an admission of liability.

The new requirements will apply only to teenagers in the states covered by the agreement and will not automatically extend to users in other countries.

Trial Ends After Week of Testimony

The settlement brings the trial to an end during its second week.

The proceedings had featured testimony from senior Meta executives, including Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who took the stand on Tuesday.

Mosseri acknowledged that he had promoted newly introduced safety tools for teenagers without disclosing that early testing had shown relatively low adoption rates.

Other witnesses alleged that Meta knew some of its safety measures were ineffective, with some describing the tools as having been “designed to fail.”

Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to testify before the settlement ended the proceedings.

Wider Legal Pressure on Meta

The agreement does not resolve all of Meta's legal exposure.

The company continues to face thousands of personal injury claims as well as litigation brought by school districts over the alleged effects of social media on young people.

The legal pressure comes amid growing international concern about the impact of platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat on children and teenagers.

Governments and schools around the world have responded with measures including minimum age requirements, restrictions on children's social media access and bans on mobile phones in schools.

Cornell University professor of digital and information law James Grimmelmann said the settlement could help Meta reduce its exposure to further litigation while acknowledging that legal challenges are likely to continue.

For Meta, the agreement represents one of the most consequential settlements over youth safety in the company's history and could mark a significant shift in how major social media platforms are expected to regulate teenagers' access and usage.