Meta has agreed to pay up to $16.7 billion to 51 US states and territories and make significant changes to how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook, settling a federal trial over allegations that the company failed to protect young users. The deal was announced in August 2026, less than a quarter of the way into what had been expected to be a 19-day trial.
Attorneys general from 29 US states had taken Meta to trial. California attorney general Rob Bonta called the settlement a development that “will make social media less dangerous for our kids.” The announcement came shortly before Instagram head Adam Mosseri was scheduled to return to the witness stand.
The settlement introduces a series of default restrictions for teen users on both platforms. A two-hour daily screen time limit will apply by default — excluding longform audio or video content of at least 22 minutes and direct messaging. Both apps will be blocked between midnight and 6 am, and notifications will be muted from 8 am to 3 pm between August 15 and June 15 to reduce school-hour distractions. Teens will also receive prompts every 15 minutes of continuous use, with additional alerts at 60 and 90 minutes.
Parents will gain new controls, including the ability to set a chronological feed, disable autoplay, and remove like and reaction counts by default. Meta will also disable cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters for teen users. All changes are subject to judicial approval.
Of the total payout, approximately $12.7 billion is guaranteed and will be distributed over 10 years in annual installments. The remaining amount depends on whether Snap, TikTok, and YouTube adopt comparable safeguards — including a one-hour daily limit, a night mode, and age verification measures. If those platforms comply, Meta’s own daily limit would also drop from two hours to one, and TikTok and YouTube would make a combined payment covering the outstanding balance.
The settlement marks a significant shift for Meta, which had previously chosen to go to trial rather than settle similar cases. Earlier in 2026, the company lost state trials in California and New Mexico, resulting in nearly $1 billion in penalties. The federal trial had threatened to expose Meta to damages the company estimated at over $1 trillion.
Source: WIRED