Meta has agreed to pay US states as much as $16.7 billion and introduce sweeping new restrictions on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under a proposed settlement filed in a California federal court on Wednesday.
The agreement would resolve claims brought by a coalition of US states alleging that Meta deliberately designed its platforms to keep young users engaged, misled the public about risks to children and unlawfully collected data from users under the age of 13.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the settlement would require significant changes to Meta’s platforms and introduce stronger protections for young users.
“Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months,” Bonta said in a statement.
He described the outcome as “real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children.”
The proposed agreement does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Meta, according to the court filing. The company has consistently denied the allegations, and the settlement must receive court approval before it can take effect.
While the financial component of the agreement is substantial, some of its most significant provisions involve changes to how teenagers access and use Meta’s platforms.
Under the proposed settlement, Facebook and Instagram would introduce a default nighttime restriction that locks teenage users out of the platforms between midnight and 6:00 a.m. local time.
Teenage accounts would also be subject to a default limit of two hours of cumulative daily use across Meta’s apps.
The settlement brings the landmark trial to an end during its second week, following testimony from several Meta executives and other witnesses.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified on Tuesday and acknowledged that he promoted newly launched safety tools for teenagers without disclosing their low adoption rates during early testing several years ago.
Other witnesses told the court that Meta was aware the tools were ineffective and, in some cases, alleged that they were “designed to fail.”
Meta founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to testify during the trial.
The proposed agreement now shifts the focus to court approval and the implementation of the new safeguards, which could significantly alter how teenagers interact with Facebook and Instagram in the United States.
