Meta waved a white flag on Wednesday in a long-running battle over claims it used deceptive tactics to get teens addicted to social media, reaching a roughly $18 billion settlement agreement and pledging to make sweeping changes to Facebook and Instagram to address teen safety. The landmark settlement marks the end of a major federal lawsuit filed by a bipartisan coalition of dozens of state attorneys general, which alleged it got teens hooked on social media while jeopardizing their mental health and safety. The settlement, which applies to 48 states and the District of Columbia, was greeted with cautious optimism by advocates arguing tech companies should be legally responsible for the harms they pose to teens.
That it didn’t do anything wrong. That anything that's occurred for children is their fault or the fault of their parents.” If approved by a federal judge, the settlement would satisfy claims first lodged in Oct. 2023, in which the states accused Meta of violating consumer-protection laws and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by publicly downplaying what it knew about the risks of its products while taking maneuvers to keep kids scrolling their platforms even as it caused them mental distress. State attorneys general, school districts, and parents have argued that Meta and other social-media companies made deliberate design choices to keep young people glued to their products, including “autoplay,” in which the platform automatically surfaces another video after a user has watched one; “like” counts on social-media posts; and “infinite scrolls” that give users an endless stream of posts on their feeds.
Tech companies disputed those claims, arguing they were protected from legal liability over the effect of user-generated content posted on social media through Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The companies have also questioned whether social media was causing young people harm, and pointed to various safety tools they implemented to keep teens safe. The states and Meta will also choose an independent auditor to review the company’s compliance with the agreement.
While the settlement is expected to end the trial, experts tell TIME it leaves three key questions still to be resolved: Among the most significant changes Meta announced as part of the settlement were usage limits for teens under 18, who will be restricted to two hours per day across Facebook and Instagram combined. The setting can only be changed with a parent’s permission. The company will block teens from using Instagram and Facebook between midnight and 6 a.m., though it's making an exception for direct messages.
Meta also agreed not to send push notifications to teens during normal school hours. Teens will be notified every 15 minutes of continuous use of Facebook or Instagram and after an hour of use. The new default settings may help address criticism that the company took extreme measures to hook kids on its platforms, especially at times when they should have been focused on school or sleeping.
But Meta’s settlement allows teens far more wiggle room to sidestep other safety features. Some of the new controls will require user opt-in. Under the agreement, young people (or their parents) can choose a non-algorithmic feed option for their social-media accounts, where the order of content they see isn’t determined by Meta’s recommendation systems.
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