Meta agrees to $18 billion settlement over children’s social media use

Technology company Meta has agreed to an historic $18 billion settlement with the attorneys general of 48 U.S. states.

According to U.S. media reports, the settlement brings a major federal lawsuit over the harmful effects of social media on children to an end. It also marks the beginning of a new era of legal responsibility for technology companies regarding the content and features available on their platforms.

Under the settlement, Meta will introduce major changes to its services including Facebook and Instagram. These changes include automatically limiting users under the age of 18 to two hours of daily use on the platforms.

The agreement also includes a unique condition under which Meta will initially pay only 70% of the settlement amount. The remaining 30%, approximately $5.3 billion will be paid only if TikTok and YouTube owned by Alphabet also agree to impose an automatic one-hour daily limit on their apps for underage users. Each company would then pay approximately $5.3 billion to the states.

According to U.S. media reports, the settlement amount will be distributed among the states that signed the agreement through annual installments over a period of 10 years based on their respective populations.

The agreement includes 48 U.S. states and four U.S. territories: the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. New Mexico which recently won a similar case against Meta and Florida are currently not part of the settlement.

Other agreed changes to the platforms include the introduction of a “Night Mode.” Under this feature, the apps will automatically be blocked for underage users between 12 midnight and 6 a.m.

In addition, a “School Mode” will be introduced which will disable notifications during school hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. These settings can only be changed with formal parental permission.