The attorney generals did what the US Congress never has: compel a social media company to change its operations to protect children. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The attorney generals did what the US Congress never has: compel a social media company to change its operations to protect children. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images Technology Analysis Meta’s settlement will compel others to bend the knee and set up teen guardrails Blake Montgomery Instagram and Facebook’s parent company agreed to sweeping alterations and a payment of upto $18bn to settle a landmark trial
Meta’s agreement to change how teenagers use its social networks marks a major turning point for the US tech giant, setting a precedent that could significantly reshape how other social media operates in the coming years.
Meta agreed to substantial alterations to Instagram and Facebook on Wednesday as part of a settlement to end a landmark lawsuit. Dozens of US states had accused it of addicting and harming children with dangerous products. The company also agreed to pay up to a combined $18bn over a decade to several US states and territories involved in the suit.
The changes may be powerful enough to alter teens’ behavior and curb social media’s worst ills, they may not, but the attorney generals did what the US Congress never has: compel a social media company to change its operations to protect children.
Meta’s vow to rework how its social networks operate by default on a level that parents and children will notice is a major concession. It is the first time in the US that Meta has been forced to change key features of the experience of its social networks’ everyday users.
Read more Meta agreed to establish safeguards for teenage users, whose ages the company will be obligated to verify. That includes a daily usage limit of two hours, blocking social media use at night, disabling notifications during school hours and a ban on displaying “likes”.
The new safety features will be turned on by default, a powerful tweak and a change from Meta’s previous opt-in approach to teenage safety and parental control. The settlement repeats again and again the word “default” when describing injunctive measures.
The amount of money is the highest-ever financial payment by a tech firm in the US, but does not pose significant threats to Meta’s business. The attorneys general had originally estimated damages of around $200bn, equal to the company’s entire revenue in 2025. Meta’s own yearly spending dwarfs the settlement amount. It has told investors that it will make investments in AI worth at least $130bn this year.
Financial damages weren’t the states’ primary objective in this suit. Instead, it was consequential changes to the way Meta’s platforms operate.
“This is a down payment, if you will, on protecting our kids,” Rob Bonta, the attorney general for the state of California, said in a press conference on Wednesday. “It is transformative. It is a watershed moment. It is a milestone mark.”
For its part, Meta’s chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, said the company was “pleased to announce” the agreement.
The changes build on others Meta has introduced in recent years in response to concern over young people’s wellbeing, including the introduction of dedicated teen accounts in 2024, a new product the company touted at trial. The attorneys general filed their suit against the company the year prior, and Meta may have debuted Teen Accounts to aver…