Meta Agrees To Up To $16.68bn Settlement, Daily Limits For Minors In US Youth Addiction Case
· Technology · Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, The Guardian
Meta has agreed to a settlement worth up to $16.68bn with a coalition of 29 US states that accused the company of designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children, misleading users on safety, and collecting minors' personal data. As part of the deal, Meta will enforce a two-hour daily usage cap for under-18 users that can only be lifted by a parent, introduce nighttime blocks, and identify and remove children under 13 from the platforms nationwide. The California State Attorney General's Office announced the changes, and the agreement still requires court approval. Meta denied any wrongdoing, having faced up to $1.4 trillion in potential fines, while the states had been seeking penalties near $200bn. The settlement follows two jury losses for Meta in New Mexico, where it was ordered to pay $375m in March and $567m in August.
Why it matters
Parents across the US gain enforceable controls over teen screen time on two of the world's largest social platforms, while Meta absorbs a multibillion-dollar hit and sets a precedent other regulators, including India's, may weigh in future child-safety cases.
Read the original report — Al Jazeera
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