Meta's social media settlement

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Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. (doing business as Meta), headquartered in Menlo Park, California, is an American multinational technology company and is one of the Big Tech companies. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads. The company also operates an advertising network for its own sites and third parties; as of 2023, advertising accounted for 97.8% of its total revenue. The company was established in 2004 as TheFacebook, Inc., and was renamed Facebook, Inc. in 2005. In 2021, it rebranded as Meta Platforms, Inc. to reflect a strategic shift toward developing the metaverse—an interconnected digital ecosystem spanning virtual and augmented reality technologies. Meta is ranked 17th on the Fortune 500 and 16th on the Forbes Global 2000. As of 2022, it was the world's third-largest spender on research and development, with R&D expenses totaling US$35.3 billion.

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• Meta to pay up to $18bn to settle claims its platforms harm children

  # Meta to pay up to $18bn to settle claims its platforms harm children Social media giant Meta has agreed to a $18bn (£13.3bn) settlement with US states and territories to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. A California judge approved the settlement, which Meta must pay to 48 states, plus the District of Columbia and three US territories, marking the company's largest payment over child safety litigation to date. Meta will also implement a host of changes aimed at better protecting kids online, which the states had demanded, including default daily time limits and night-time blocks. "This is a major moment to clean up an industry that has been hurting our kids," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. [...] Meta has denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement and said on Wednesday that the payment it agreed to "will be distributed in annual instalments over a 10-year period". Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved the settlement, writing that it "reflects a fair, reasonable, comprehensive, and good faith approach not only to provide monetary relief, but importantly, to change conduct in a way that attempts to meaningfully address the negative impacts of the social media platforms at issue". ## Meta's $18bn settlement may hasten reckoning for social media on child safety While the settlement includes almost the entire US, the initial lawsuit was filed in 2023 by 29 states accusing the company ofnumerous violations of federal and state child privacy laws.

• Meta reaches $18 billion settlement over teen social media addiction | AP News

  # Meta reaches landmark $18 billion settlement with states in trial over teen social media addiction ## Meta reaches landmark $18 billion settlement with states in trial over teen social media addiction OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Meta agreed Wednesday to pay up to $18 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms as part of a landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state. The settlement resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech giant accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to hook young people’s attention. [...] “Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said. “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.” The company urged competitors TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safety measures. The $18 billion settlement is a fraction of Meta’s 2025 revenue of $201 billion. Meta shares closed up about 1% Wednesday, although they rose as much as 4% during the day. [...] Under the proposed settlement, Meta agreed to adopt a series of safety features, including two-hour daily time limits that can only be disabled with a parent’s permission and pauses for children using Instagram and Facebook. The company will eliminate push notifications during weekday school hours and bring in “robust” age-assurance measures and “age-appropriate” content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material about eating disorders and self-harm. There will be stronger and more user-friendly parental controls and limits on social comparison features such as “like” counts. An independent auditor will assess how Meta is implementing the safety features and how effective they are.

• $17 Billion and Counting: What Meta's Historic Settlement Means for Social Media and Your Business | Baker Donelson

  Baker Donelson # $17 Billion and Counting: What Meta's Historic Settlement Means for Social Media and Your Business Twitter Share Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to settle social-media-addiction claims brought by States Attorneys General (AGs) from 47 states, along with Washington, D.C., American Samoa, and Puerto Rico, including the lawsuit brought by the Tennessee AG over the past several months in Nashville. Tennessee's share of the settlement is $751.9 million, which will be used to fund youth mental health and safety programs. The settlement also requires Meta to limit teen screen time, block late-night access, and implement new age-verification tools. ### Key Takeaways [...] ### The Settlement Settlement talks began mid-trial in the federal case in Oakland, before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. That federal suit was brought under the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and state consumer-protection laws. The settlement then expanded to include the majority of states that had sued Meta separately, including Tennessee. Under the terms, Meta will pay up to $17.1 billion (Meta will only pay 70% of the total amount unless competing platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube agree to set default one-hour daily limits for underage users). The payments will be made over a ten-year period. Beyond the payment, Meta must: Notwithstanding the proposed settlement, Meta continues to deny any wrongdoing. ### What This Means for Tennessee [...] ### Key Takeaways Meta Platforms agreed to settle claims that its social media platforms harmed young users. The deal has now been approved by the California federal judge overseeing the trial in Oakland, California. The settlement will put an end to the federal court litigation in California, as well as nearly all of the separate state-court cases, including the trial in Nashville. Notably, Texas, New Mexico, and Florida are not included in this settlement, with Florida continuing to litigate against Meta. ### The Settlement

• Meta to Pay Up to $17.1 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims - The New York Times

  Meta on Wednesday reached a landmark settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, agreeing to pay up to $17.1 billion in penalties and make major changes to its products over claims it endangered children with addictive social media platforms. In a dramatic capitulation, the owner of Facebook and Instagram agreed to the financial penalties for violating federal child privacy and states’ consumer protection laws, the states announced. Meta also agreed to limit how long teenagers can spend on its platforms and to bans on features that stoke mental health issues, striking at the heart of the company’s business of engagement for advertising. [...] Separately, Meta said on Wednesday that it settled with Texas for about $1 billion over similar allegations. The company still faces numerous other lawsuits from school districts and individuals, some of which are scheduled for trial in the coming months. Meta’s stock rose on the news, closing up just over 1 percent. The company is valued at $1.47 trillion and most recently generated $60.8 billion in quarterly revenue. The settlement could signal an inflection point for a social media industry that has largely escaped regulatory scrutiny over the harms its products have caused children. The amount, paid in installments over 10 years, is one of the highest ever reached by a tech company to states. ## Related Content Advertisement [...] Supported by # Meta to Pay Up to $17.1 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims The social media giant settled with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and agreed to make major changes to its products over claims its platforms endangered children.

• Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states in landmark trial over teen social media addiction | PBS News

  There will be stronger and more user-friendly parental controls and limits on social comparison features such as "like" counts. An independent auditor will assess how Meta is implementing the safety features and how effective they are. Meta put the settlement at $18 billion, a figure that apparently includes a large award for Texas. The money is to be paid out annually over 10 years, to fund youth online safety initiatives. However, the company said 30% of that amount — about $5.3 billion — will only be released to states if rivals YouTube and TikTok meet two conditions: implementing similar safety features, including a one-hour daily time limit, a nighttime block and age-assurance measures; and paying the same amount, split between the two companies. [...] WATCH: News Wrap: Meta faces trial over arguments its platforms harm children The company urged rivals TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safety measures. The $17 billion settlement is a fraction of Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion. The agreement cuts short an ongoing court case involving California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, which were among 29 states that sued Meta in 2023. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was among those expected to take the stand before a jury in federal court in California. [...] Politics Arts Nation World Economy Science Health Education Education #### Get news alerts from PBS News ##### Turn on desktop notifications? FILE PHOTO: Headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc in Mountain View Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press Kelvin Chan, Associated Press Kelvin Chan, Associated Press Leave your feedback # Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states in landmark trial over teen social media addiction OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced Wednesday.