Facebook and Instagram owner Meta has agreed to pay up to $18bn (£13.24bn) to settle claims brought by US states that its platforms harmed children.
As part of the deal, which is subject to court approval, Meta will be required to introduce new rules for teenage users, including daily limits and night-time blocks.
The payment will be distributed in annual instalments over a 10-year period. However, 30% will be withheld until two conditions are met.
These are YouTube and TikTok agreeing to implement a one-hour daily limit, night mode, and age assurance measures and both platforms each paying an amount to match the 30% figure. Half of Meta’s remaining 30% would be tied to YouTube’s payment and half tied to TikTok’s.
The settlement ends a legal battle that started in 2023 when 29 US States filed a lawsuit claiming that Meta’s platforms violated federal and state privacy laws for children.
The states alleged that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive for children and teenagers, making it difficult for them to use the platforms less.
Meta was accused of misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms for young people.
The trial against Meta had started last week in Oakland, California, and had been due to last for six weeks.
The company had denied the allegations against it and that it has any liability to the plaintiffs.
The attorney general for Washington DC, one of the states involved in the case, said the settlement was a “monumental public health victory for young people”, BBC News reports.
Brian Schwalb said: “Meta intentionally exploited kids for profit and then lied about it, claiming its products were safe when its own internal research confirmed the platforms were addictive and harmful.”
He added: “The safety features Meta is required to install will fundamentally and immediately change how young people use Instagram and Facebook.”
In a statement welcoming the settlement, Meta said it was an “important step.”
It reads: “Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta. We want to get this right for parents and teens.”
Meta also took the opportunity to take aim at TikTok and YouTube, calling on the platforms to implement the same restrictions.
The settlement states that the following measures are among those to be implemented on Meta’s platforms:
- A default daily time limit of two hours for users under 18 that can only be lifted by a parent
- A default nighttime block between midnight and 06:00 for users under 18 that can only be lifted by a parent
- Default blocks on notifications to users under 18 from 22:00 to 07:00 and during the school day
- An enhanced mechanism for teens to report potentially harmful content and a requirement that Meta respond to 90% of those reports within six hours
- A ban on displaying numbers of likes or reactions to users under 18
- A ban on cosmetic procedure image filters for users under 18
- An option for users under 18 to have a non-personalised feed
- A commitment to enhance parent supervision tools