Key facts
- Meta has agreed to a $18 billion settlement with U.S. states regarding child safety on its social media platforms.
- The settlement mandates new restrictions, including age limits, concealed 'likes', and deactivated recommendation algorithms.
- Meta is actively campaigning for other social media companies to adopt these new safety standards.
- The deal aims to address concerns about Meta's platforms allegedly harming children.
- The agreement was approved by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
Meta has agreed to a sweeping $18 billion settlement with U.S. states to implement significant changes aimed at protecting children on its Instagram and Facebook platforms. This deal, one of the largest consumer protection settlements in U.S. history, comes after years of congressional inaction on social media regulation.
The settlement includes $17 billion from a major case based in California and a separate agreement with Texas, totaling $18 billion. Meta will pay this amount over the next decade. Crucially, the agreement mandates new safety guardrails, such as concealing the number of 'likes' on posts, prohibiting 'beauty filter' features, and offering users the option to deactivate allegedly addictive recommendation algorithms. It also requires improved age verification and time limits for teen users, along with five years of independent auditing.
Meta is actively promoting the settlement as a new industry standard and has publicly called on competitors like TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures. The company is reportedly launching a campaign to encourage other platforms to sign on. However, some industry insiders view the deal critically, with one anonymous source calling it a "PR stunt" designed to harm competitors by forcing them into unfavorable terms.
While the settlement addresses long-standing criticisms that Meta's platforms knowingly harm children, lawmakers like House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie emphasize that it underscores the need for comprehensive federal legislation. Advocates like Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction, also stressed that legislative action remains essential.
Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeier rejected the settlement, calling Meta's concessions "peanuts" compared to the alleged harms inflicted by its profit-driven features. Meta's net worth is nearly $1.5 trillion, with revenues exceeding $200 billion last year.
Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen cautiously approved the settlement, seeing it as a step towards establishing a minimum floor for online protections. Professor Matthew Lawrence, an expert on addiction regulation, described the agreement as thorough and a significant move toward industry self-regulation through litigation. California Attorney General Rob Bonta hailed the deal as a "major breakthrough" and a "watershed moment."