Meta to Pay Up to $18 Billion, Limit Teen Screen Time Under State Settlement

Meta Platforms will pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and strictly limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under an agreement with nearly all U.S. states, resolving claims the company designed those platforms to addict children.

The settlements announced Wednesday end a federal trial over allegations that Meta's products harmed children and that the company misled the public about their safety. Four states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — had been expected to seek close to $200 billion in civil penalties, according to the report. While Meta will not undergo a fundamental overhaul, the accords represent a sweeping effort to define how the company serves young users, and could provide a template for resolving thousands of other lawsuits against social media companies as governments worldwide try to curb children's access to harmful online content, including Australia's ban on social media for children under 16.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the settlement delivers meaningful protections. "The focus of this case was to protect our kids," he said in a statement. "The relief we are getting in this settlement is very meaningful and well beyond what any court has ordered or is likely to order."

Meta agreed to restrict teenagers' use of Facebook and Instagram to two hours a day over the next decade and to block all usage from midnight to 6 a.m., absent parental consent. Those limits could be tightened further if Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt similar terms, the report said. Meta will also disable most push notifications to teenage users during school hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and enhance measures to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content.

The settlement does not require Meta to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising, and does not address some content Meta's own researchers found particularly problematic, including posts that made Instagram users uncomfortable about their body image.

Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, according to the report. The total payout represents about three to four months of profit and about one month of revenue for the company.