Meta agrees to pay up to $18bn to settle social media case

Meta agrees to pay up to $18bn to settle social media case">

Social media giant Meta has reached a settlement with US states and territories to resolve a court case related to child safety on Facebook and Instagram.

The tech company says it will pay a maximum of $18bn (£13.3bn) to 48 states, plus the District of Columbia and three US territories.

The settlement requires Meta to introduce certain rules for teenage users, including daily limits and night-time blocks.

Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

It was alleged the company had violated numerous federal and state privacy laws for children.

The states suing Meta claimed it used its platforms "to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens," and ignored the damage they did to the "mental and physical wellbeing of America's youth".

After the settlement was announced, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb called it a "monumental public health victory".

He added: "The safety features Meta is required to install will fundamentally and immediately change how young people use Instagram and Facebook."

Safety features Meta will need to introduce include limiting access for children during school hours, stronger parental controls and robust age verification for underage users.

"Today, we are announcing an agreement with a bipartisan group of 52 attorneys general across US states, territories, and the District of Columbia, building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens," Meta said in a statement.

"The agreement includes a payment of approximately $18 billion, which can be used to fund youth online safety initiatives, among other state priorities.

"The payment will be distributed in annual instalments over a 10-year period."

But the company said TikTok and YouTube should also implement the same safety features for their younger users.

"Our new Time Limit commitments, Night Mode features and usage limits during school hours set the right path forward for our whole industry, but this framework will only work if all our peers join us," Meta's chief legal officer CJ Mahoney said.

YouTube and TikTok have been contacted for comment.