Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Meta has agreed to pay USD 17 billion and introduce a set of child-safety measures on Facebook and Instagram to settle claims filed by 47 US states over teen social media addiction, state attorneys general announced on Wednesday. The deal brings an early end to a trial in California that was expected to include testimony from Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg before a federal jury.
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The settlement resolves a case brought by 29 states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, in 2023. Other cases in other states were also expected to go to trial later, while nine attorneys general had filed separate lawsuits in their own states.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said the agreement was worth USD 353 million in Virginia alone and described it as one of the biggest settlements in the state’s consumer protection history. “For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health,” Jones said. He added that the settlement “will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm.”
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The USD 17 billion settlement is a fraction of the company’s 2025 revenue of USD 201 billion. The lawsuits accused Meta of worsening the youth mental health crisis by designing features that keep children hooked to its platforms and hiding the risks from the public. The cases also said Meta routinely collected data on children under 13 without parental consent, in violation of federal law.
The trial began last week in Oakland, California, before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Instagram head Adam Mosseri began testifying late on Tuesday and defended Meta’s record and progress on child safety and privacy. In a court filing, Meta said financial penalties in the case could reach as much as USD 1.4 trillion, though legal experts said that figure was unlikely, if not impossible.
Under the proposed settlement, Meta has agreed to bring in a “hard cap” on daily time limits and pauses for children using Instagram and Facebook. It will also remove push notifications during weekday school hours and introduce stronger age checks and age-appropriate content controls aimed at blocking bullying and harmful material linked to eating disorders and self-harm. The settlement also calls for stronger and easier-to-use parental controls and limits on social comparison features such as like counts.
The federal lawsuit followed an investigation led by a bipartisan group of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont. It came after newspaper reports, first published by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, said the company knew about the harm Instagram could cause teenagers, especially teen girls, in relation to mental health and body image.
Meta has since added several safety features to Instagram, including separate accounts for teenagers with tighter messaging and privacy protections and content restrictions. But child safety experts and some former Meta employees have argued that these measures do not go far enough. Former Meta engineering director Arturo Bjar told the court last week that the company had consistently put profits ahead of safety in designing its products, focusing on how often and how long people used them even when it harmed their mental well-being. “If you step away from the product, they are not going to make any money,” he said.
In summary, the settlement ends a closely watched trial and resolves claims from dozens of states, while requiring Meta to pay USD 17 billion and make changes to Facebook and Instagram aimed at reducing harm to children and teenagers.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
