Meta has agreed to pay up to $16.7 billion to settle child-safety claims brought by 47 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories, with a separate $1 billion deal for Texas pushing the potential total to nearly $18 billion. The settlement, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California, resolves allegations that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to foster compulsive use in children and failed to warn users about addiction and mental health risks. Under the 10-year agreement, Meta will impose a default two-hour daily time limit for users under 18, a default block between midnight and 6 am, and a school mode that mutes notifications from 8 am to 3 pm. The time limit is cumulative across both apps, including for users with multiple accounts, and teens will get prompts after 15 minutes of continuous use and when daily usage hits 60 and 90 minutes.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier rejected the settlement, calling the payouts "peanuts" compared to the harm inflicted on kids and a "slap on the wrist" for a trillion-dollar company. He said Florida would see Meta at trial. Advocacy group Public Citizen also criticized the deal, arguing that billions spread over a decade is not a real penalty for one of the world's wealthiest tech firms, while The Tech Oversight Project praised state attorneys general for forcing protections but urged Congress to pass permanent platform-wide rules. New Mexico, another non-settling state, recently won a state court judgment requiring Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties and $567 million for a public nuisance fund, which Meta is appealing.
The settlement includes a clause that reduces Meta's payment by $5 billion if TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat do not agree to similar terms, meaning Meta's minimum payment is about $11.7 billion. Meta reported revenue of $60.8 billion and net income of $15.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026. The states and Meta urged a judge to approve the deal, which also resolves claims related to Cambridge Analytica, adding $459 million to the total. California Attorney General Bonta said Meta agreed to massive changes, including bans on plastic surgery filters for minors and an enhanced reporting mechanism requiring responses to 90 percent of teen reports within six hours.
Other terms include a ban on showing likes or reactions to users under 18, an option for minors to have a non-personalized feed, age-verification systems to detect and remove users under 13, and an independent auditor with expansive access. Meta is also barred from making false statements about its safety features. A trial involving California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey began this month after an appeals court rejected Meta's Section 230 immunity claim. Meta said in a July filing that the four states' damages demands would exceed $1.4 trillion, but the attorneys general countered that evidence would show Meta deliberately designed its platforms to induce compulsive use.
California is set to receive the largest payment, between $1.5 billion and $2.2 billion, with funds earmarked for youth mental health programs and related purposes. States and territories can use their shares for crisis services, after-school programs, public health advertising, and grants to school districts. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his separate $1 billion settlement, which was not part of the multi-state deal. Meta continues to deny the states' allegations.
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