Meta agrees to pay up to $18b over harm to children

Meta Platforms has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle claims brought by U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed to keep children and teenagers hooked, while misleading consumers about the risks to young users.

Under the settlement, Meta will introduce stricter safety measures for users under 18, including a two-hour daily usage limit, nighttime restrictions from midnight to 6am, stronger age-verification systems and enhanced parental controls.

About $12.7 billion of the settlement would be paid to participating states over 10 years, while roughly $5.3 billion is conditional on YouTube and TikTok adopting comparable measures and making matching payments.

The agreement remains subject to court approval.

Meta has denied wrongdoing but said the agreement aims to establish a new industry standard for protecting teenagers online.