Settlement Requires Meta to Check Young Users' Ages. How Will that Work?
The $18 billion settlement also requires stronger age verification, daily usage limits and night-time notification controls for minors, Meta said.
- On August 26, Meta reached a $17.1 billion multistate settlement with a bipartisan group of attorneys general to resolve claims that its platforms intentionally addict and harm users under 18.
- Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman led the legal action, alleging Meta knowingly used addictive features on Facebook and Instagram that harmed the mental health of children and teens.
- The settlement requires Meta to implement immediate safety changes, including a 120-minute daily time limit with mandatory pauses, nighttime blocks from midnight to 6 a.m., and restricted push notifications during school hours.
- Kentucky will receive $358 million from the settlement, while Meta called on industry peers TikTok and YouTube to adopt these safety frameworks immediately to protect minors across platforms.
- Most safety changes will remain in effect for 10 years, with independent auditors and settling states assessing implementation and efficacy to ensure long-term protections for young users.
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Guest commentary: After Meta settlement, what’s next?
The landmark Meta settlement is historic, not just because it immediately triggers overdue limits on how kids consume social media, but because it invites more scrutiny of how technology impacts childhood development. Without admitting any wrongdoing, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay up to $17 billion to resolve claims […]
AG Lynn Fitch could have ‘virtually unlimited latitude’ to set how Mississippi’s $189 million Meta settlement can be spent
Attorney General Lynn Fitch speaks with reporters about her campaign for governor during an event at the Mississippi Republican Party's headquarters in Jackson on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.
Teen-safety settlement is Meta’s shrewd move to hurt competitors
The headlines this week wrote themselves: Meta, humbled at last, agrees to pay up to $17.1 billion and accept the strictest limits ever imposed on teenage social media use. A combined two-hour daily cap across Instagram and Facebook. A midnight-to-6 a.m. blackout. Age assurance. Attorneys general from 47 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories took a victory lap.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay a total of $18 billion in damages to US states over the next ten years in a lawsuit over its services that are addictive to children and young people. Although the agreement also restricts young people's use of social media, experts say the bans may not deter young people.
Tech giant Meta was sued by several states in August for knowingly making its social media platforms addictive to children. The parties recently reached a settlement worth $18 billion. The question is whether the settlement will mean a change for Instagram and Facebook.
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