Meta to Pay $16.7 Billion in Landmark Teen Safety Settlement
Meta has agreed to pay US states as much as $16.7 billion and implement sweeping new limits on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram, according to a court filing on Wednesday that brings an end to a landmark trial in California.
The proposed settlement, filed in federal court, resolves claims from a coalition of US states alleging that Meta deliberately designed its platforms to hook young users, misled the public about the risks involved, and unlawfully collected data from children under 13.
“Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement, describing the outcome as real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children.
The filing notes that the agreement does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Meta, which has consistently denied the allegations. It still requires court approval before taking effect.
While the financial penalty is significant, the settlement’s most far-reaching impact comes from a long list of new safeguards that will substantially reshape how the apps function for young users. One key change introduces a default nighttime restriction that locks teenagers out of Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 a.m. local time. Teen accounts will also face a default cap of two hours of combined daily use across Meta’s apps.
The settlement brings the trial to a close in its second week. Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified Tuesday and acknowledged promoting newly launched safety tools for teens without disclosing that early testing had shown low adoption rates. Other witnesses testified over the course of the trial that Meta was aware these tools were ineffective, with some describing them as having been designed to fail. Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had also been expected to testify before the settlement was reached.
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