Meta settles landmark child harm case for $18 billion and promises changes to its platforms
By Clare Duffy, CNN
New York (CNN) — Meta said Wednesday it has agreed to pay about $18 billion as part of a settlement to resolve claims brought by 29 state attorneys general that it intentionally designed addictive platforms that harmed young people’s mental health.
The settlement ends a landmark legal battle for the social media giant.
As part of the settlement, Meta has agreed to make changes to its platforms, such as establishing daily time limits for teen users, according to a court filing. The nearly $18 billion payment will provide funding for state “youth online safety initiatives,” according to the company.
The agreement comes just over a week after a trial began in California, in which four of the states were seeking as much as $1.4 trillion in damages and changes to the company’s platforms. Instagram head Adam Mosseri was set to take the stand for a second day on Wednesday, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was also expected to testify in the case.
Meta has long denied that its platforms harm children and had called the states’ claims “unsubstantiated.” Meta did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said in a blog post about the agreement on Wednesday. “We want to get this right for parents and teens, and that’s why we partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard.”
The states believed a settlement would bring about more change, more quickly, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said in a press conference on Wednesday. Jackson called the agreement the largest settlement with a big tech company in history.
“Litigation would mean that we were still many years away from bringing any of these child safety upgrades to these platforms, it would risk losing another generation,” he said.
The settlement comes after Meta lost two similar addiction cases earlier this year: one from New Mexico’s attorney general in which Meta was ordered to pay nearly $1 billion in damages and another brought by a teen known as K.G.M. that resulted in joint damages for Meta and YouTube of $6 million.
Meta — along with other social media giants — still faces hundreds of lawsuits brought by individuals, families and school districts accusing it of addicting and harming children. Future losses could bring about additional financial penalties for the company, although Meta denies the claims.
The state attorneys general had accused Meta of intentionally designing features — such as an infinitely scrolling feed, algorithmic recommendations and frequent notifications — to hook kids and teens. They also claimed the company misled the public about risks to young people from its platforms and illegally collected data from children under 13 without parental consent.
While $18 billion amounts to only a fraction of the revenue that Meta earns each quarter, the changes it’s agreed to could significantly impact its ad-based business model if they reduce the time teens spend on its apps.
This story has been updated with additional details and context.
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