Meta to Pay $16.68 Billion Settling Claims Over Child Safety on Instagram and Facebook

Meta has agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to settle claims from dozens of states accusing the company of designing Facebook and Instagram in ways that hooked children, misled the public about safety, and collected kids’ personal data without proper consent. The deal came during a federal trial in California covering claims from 29 states, avoiding a verdict in one of the biggest legal tests yet for social media’s impact on young users.

New Safety Rules Coming for Teen Accounts

As part of the agreement, Meta will roll out nationwide changes for teenage users, including daily time limits and blocks on nighttime access. The company, based in Menlo Park, California, denied any wrongdoing while agreeing to the settlement. Meta’s stock climbed 4.4% in pre-market trading following the news.

Part of a Larger Legal Battle

The trial had combined claims from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, along with allegations that Meta broke federal children’s privacy law by gathering data from underage users without parental permission and using it to train AI systems. Meta previously argued that “social media addiction” isn’t a recognized medical condition, so it couldn’t have misled anyone about it.

Before trial, Meta said the four states were pursuing penalties as high as $1.4 trillion, though the states had signaled a figure closer to $200 billion.

Other Companies Still Facing Lawsuits

Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok, along with their parent companies Snap, Alphabet, and ByteDance, continue to face thousands of similar lawsuits nationwide over claims their platforms were built to be addictive to young users.

This settlement follows other losses for Meta, including a $375 million jury verdict and a separate $567 million penalty in a New Mexico case earlier this year. The company has said it plans to appeal those rulings.