Facebook and Instagram owner Meta has agreed to pay up to 18 billion US dollars (£13.3 billion) as part of a settlement ending a legal battle in the US, where it will also introduce major new protections for teenage users.
The agreement resolves claims filed by 47 US states accusing the tech giant of designing Instagram with features that are addictive to children and teenagers and can harm their mental health.
End of trial and largest settlement in state consumer protection history
It brings an end to a trial that kicked off last week in California and that had expected to see chief executive Mark Zuckerberg give evidence before a jury in federal court.
The settlement is viewed as one of the largest in state consumer protection history in the US.
Jay Jones, the attorney general for Virginia, said: “For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health.”
He said the settlement would “put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm”.
New protections for under-18s
Meta unveiled a set of new protections and controls that will automatically apply to under-18s on Instagram and Facebook, subject to court approval and only for participating US states.
This includes a default night-time block, between midnight and 6am, muting notifications during school hours, hiding the number of “likes” and reactions on posts by default, and blocking teens from using extreme makeup filters.
Meta has also committed to strengthening tools to prevent underage accounts being created and protecting teenagers from harmful content.
These new measures will not apply to users worldwide, including the UK.
Payment terms and call for industry-wide action
The total settlement will be made in instalments over 10 years to the US states involved.
But Meta called on rival social media platforms TikTok and YouTube to make similar changes to restrict teenage usage.
It warned that 30% of the settlement, amounting to about 5.2 billion dollars (£3.8 billion), would only be paid if YouTube and TikTok agreed to pay the same sum, and if they implement one-hour daily limits, night mode and age-assurance measures.
Meta’s chief legal office CJ Mahoney said its new protections for teenagers “will only work if all our peers join us”.
“Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution,” he said.
“As a parent, I’m proud of both the work Meta has done to protect kids historically, and of this new ground-breaking agreement.
“But its success depends on all other social media platforms following Meta’s lead.”
