Meta settle lawsuit for $18bn and agree to changes for teens

Meta, parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, have agreed to pay up to $18 billion (over £13 billion) to settle a lawsuit which claimed their social media platforms harmed children.

In a surprise move, Meta agreed to the settlement mid-trial which will be paid to 48 US states, three US territories, and the District of Columbia. It marks the largest payment for a social media company over child safety concerns. Meta deny any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, claiming in testimony for the trial: “We're always working on teen safety”. The agreement means that the trial ends before Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the stand.

Meta has also agreed to make significant changes to how its platforms operate for teenagers. There is already a minimum age limit of 13, but they have promised to implement further features, including:

• ‘Night mode’, which blocks notifications between midnight and 6am, will be switched on automatically
• Likes on posts and content will be hidden
• A two-hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram by default
• The ability to switch off autoplaying videos, and to choose a feed which is not driven by an algorithm

Meta's chief legal officer, said: “The framework we've negotiated will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms”. Further restrictions may be implemented if YouTube, TikTok, and Snap, who are not owned by Meta, agree to limits for teen users. Some of the proposed features can be turned off, but are designed to be changed by parents rather than teens. Many of the changes will be active within six months, with Meta implementing better ways to identify underage users within a year. While the changes are only enforced within the United States, it is likely that other countries will adopt them.

The judge who approved the settlement, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, said that it “reflects a fair, reasonable, comprehensive, and good faith approach not only to provide monetary relief, but importantly, to change conduct in a way that attempts to meaningfully address the negative impacts of the social media platforms at issue”. While the $18 billion payment is the largest seen, it is still significantly lower than the $1.4 trillion sum that was sought at the start of the trial.

California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, said: “This is a major moment to clean up an industry that has been hurting our kids”. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb added: “The safety features Meta is required to install will fundamentally and immediately change how young people use Instagram and Facebook.“ Arturo Bejar, an Instagram employee who turned whistleblower, said that “At the end of the day, Meta needs to be held accountable for results, not efforts”.

Lori Schott from Colorado, who blames social media for the death of her daughter, welcomed the outcome but added: “This doesn’t end today. This goes on tomorrow and the next day and the next day until around the world Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, and all these other platforms hear us roar.” She went on: “Until we get some universal guidelines, and every company that is exposing our children to these harms is held accountable, that’s the day to celebrate a win. But until that time, TikTok, Snap, you’re next.”