Meta agrees to $18 billion settlement with 48 states over alleged harms to minors

Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, announced an $18 billion settlement with 48 U.S. states that had sued the company over claims it knowingly harmed minors. The agreement ends a consolidated federal case and requires Meta to introduce a two-hour daily usage cap for users under 18, default night-time shutdowns, disabled notifications during school hours, and expanded parental-control tools. Meta also urged competitors such as TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safeguards.

Victims’ families expressed mixed reactions. Victoria Hinks, whose 16-year-old daughter died by suicide in 2024, said the settlement felt like “vindication” and hoped it would pressure Meta’s leadership. Lori Schott, whose 18-year-old daughter died in 2020, described the payout as insufficient and warned that earlier implementation of the new rules might have saved her child. Other parents, including Erin Popolo and Kathleen Spence, voiced both disappointment that the changes cannot restore lost lives and cautious optimism that the measures could protect other youths.

Attorney Matthew Bergman, representing a plaintiff in a related case, noted that the platform changes had been recommended internally for years and represented “major steps in the right direction,” while acknowledging that further action is needed. Meta declined to comment directly on individual cases but issued a statement urging industry-wide adoption of the new safeguards, emphasizing that restrictions on one app often lead users to migrate to another.

The settlement does not resolve all pending litigation; private lawsuits from families of affected teens continue, and two states—New Mexico and Florida—have not joined the agreement.