Facing a potential fine of $1.7 trillion in a federal lawsuit, Meta — owner/operator of Facebook and Instagram — has agreed to a $16.68 billion settlement. As part of the settlement, Meta agrees to limit youths under 18 to two hours a day on its social media platforms.
Meta is also turning off push notifications during school hours and shutting down its sites to those under 18 from midnight to 6 a.m.
The lawsuit was brought by 47 U.S. states and territories. The issue was not content, but Meta’s deliberately designing its platforms “to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens,” while failing to adequately address the harm they caused to the “mental and physical well-being of America’s youth.”
Meta admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement and urged other social media companies to follow in its footsteps in restricting youthful usage and safeguarding those under 18.
“We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone. These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers—TikTok and YouTube—to put the same measures in place,” Meta wrote in announcing the deal.
