The Deal
Meta has reached a proposed settlement worth up to approximately $18 billion with a bipartisan coalition of 48 state attorneys general, resolving a lawsuit filed in 2023 that accused Facebook and Instagram of being deliberately designed to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers. The agreement, announced August 26, 2026, is awaiting court approval. New Mexico and Florida are not part of the settlement — New Mexico already won a similar trial earlier this year, while Florida did not join the multistate action.
The Allegations
The lawsuit, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, accused Meta of:
- Designing engagement features that drove compulsive use among young users
- Misleading users, families, and the public about the risks of its platforms
- Illegally collecting and using data belonging to children under 13, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and related state laws
Financial Terms
- Meta will pay roughly 70% of the $18 billion total over 10 years
- $12.7 billion of the settlement is earmarked to fund state youth online safety initiatives
- Meta expects to record approximately $10 billion in related legal expenses in Q3 2026
- Despite the size of the payout, it represents a small fraction of Meta's $201 billion in 2025 revenue — the company's shares rose about 1.5% the day the deal was announced
New Safety Commitments
Under the settlement, Meta has agreed to:
- Send teens prompts and notifications every 15 minutes of continuous screen time, plus alerts at 60- and 90-minute cumulative daily usage
- Strengthen efforts to identify under-18 accounts and remove users under 13 from its platforms
- Submit to an independent auditor reviewing compliance annually for five years
- Operate under an injunction barring further false or misleading statements about its safety features
- Fund an independent research foundation focused on teen well-being and social media use
- Maintain most of the new protections for at least 10 years
Notably, part of Meta's payout and some concessions are structured to pressure YouTube and TikTok into adopting similar teen-safety restrictions — Meta has publicly urged its competitors to follow suit.
Context
Meta had already lost related cases this year: a New Mexico trial resulted in nearly $1 billion in damages, and a separate suit brought by a teen (known as K.G.M.) produced joint damages of $6 million against Meta and YouTube. This settlement resolves the bulk of the state-led litigation but does not end Meta's legal exposure — the company still faces hundreds of lawsuits from individuals, families, and school districts alleging harm to children, and it continues to deny wrongdoing.
What's Next
If the court approves the deal, it will close out the coordinated multistate litigation, though individual and school-district lawsuits will continue. The independent audits and research foundation are expected to begin operating once the settlement is finalized, with the first compliance review due within the first year.
References
- BleepingComputer — Meta agrees to $18 billion settlement over teen social media harms
- The Record — Meta pledges to overhaul kids' safety protections, pay $17 billion to settle social media case
- TechCrunch — Meta settles for $18 billion in lawsuit brought by 29 states over social media harms to children
- CNN Business — Meta settles landmark state child harm claims for $18 billion