Meta settles for up to $18 billion, prompting regulators to target TikTok, YouTube and Snap
Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle a multi-state lawsuit over alleged harms to minors, with part of the payment contingent on similar safety measures by TikTok and YouTube, while state attorneys general say they will pursue comparable actions against other platforms.
Meta reached a settlement in a California trial brought by a coalition of U.S. states that accused the company of misleading the public about risks to younger users. The agreement caps the payment at $18 billion, of which Meta will pay about $12.7 billion over ten years. An additional $5.3 billion is conditional on rival platforms TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube adopting comparable child-safety changes.
Under the deal, Meta will impose a two-hour daily usage limit for users under 18 that can only be lifted by a parent, disable certain cosmetic-filter features, strengthen age-verification processes and add a night-mode setting. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a co-lead in the case, said the settlement “gives notice to others in the industry that we’re not done, and we expect similar outcomes from them as well.”
Legal scholars noted that the settlement may pressure TikTok, YouTube and Snap to implement similar safeguards before facing litigation. “I’d expect TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat to make changes before they ever face that scene,” said Tulane University professor Rob Lalka, adding that the settlement reflects a reputational-risk calculation for those companies.
State officials are already pursuing separate actions against the other platforms. California is suing TikTok and is in talks with Snap, while New York Attorney General Letitia James and other states have filed a consumer-protection lawsuit against TikTok for alleged addictive features. Bonta said the state will continue “the fight across social media” and is seeking to ensure that TikTok, Snap and YouTube adopt the same commitments outlined in Meta’s settlement.