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Meta reaches $18B of settlements over children’s social media addiction - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Meta reaches $18B of settlements over children’s social media addiction Cyber Risks , Emerging Risks , Technology Aug 26, 2026 (Reuters) — Meta Platforms agreed to make major changes to Facebook and Instagram and pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims by most U.S. states that it designed those platforms to addict children and misled consumers about their safety. The settlements announced on Wednesday end a federal trial that had been one of the highest-profile tests of allegations that social media companies harm children. While Meta will not undergo a fundamental over haul, the accords represent a sweeping effort to define how it serves young users. “The focus of this case was to protect our kids,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. “The relief we are getting in this settlement is very meaningful and well beyond what any court has ordered or is likely to order.” Meta agreed for the next decade to restrict teenagers’ use of Facebook and Instagram to two hours a day and block all usage from midnight to 6 a.m., absent parental consent. These limits could be tightened if other social media companies adopt similar terms. Meta will also enhance measures to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content. The settlement does not require Meta , which denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising. The total payout represents about three to four months of profit for the Menlo Park, California-based company. “Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta ,” the company said in a blog post. “We want to get this right for parents and teens.” The settlements include more than $17.6 billion of payments to 48 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Meta will also pay $459 million to resolve states’ privacy claims related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the British consulting firm collected personal data of millions of Facebook users. California would receive the highest payout, $2.2 billion , and New York and Texas would each receive more than $1 billion . Some of the payout is contingent on whether Alphabet’s YouTube and ByteDance’s TikTok impose similar protections for children. Neither of those companies was im media tely available for comment. “This is a big deal,” said James Speta, a Northwestern University law professor who specializes in telecommunications and internet policy. “ Meta and other companies were facing pressure to change business practices whether or not they lost the lawsuits, from the public and from Congress and state legislatures,” he continued. “These restrictions will change the experience on Instagram and Facebook, and they are designed to reduce engagement.” The settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who over saw the trial that began on August 18. Instagram head Adam Mosseri had begun testifying, and Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to testify. Shares of Meta rose 1.4% in morning trading. Social media companies face a broad wave of litigation by states, local g over nments, school districts and individuals accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis , causing such harms as anxiety, depression and suicide. Meta , YouTube, TikTok, and Snap’s Snapchat still face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts claiming they knowingly tried to addict children to their platforms. The Meta trial included claims by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that the company violated state consumer protection laws. It also included claims by 29 states that Meta violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by knowingly collecting personal data from children without parental consent and using the data to train generative AI. Meta had long argued that it could not have misled consumers because “ social media addiction ” was not a recognized psychiatric condition. Before the trial began, Meta said California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties. The states suggested the figure was closer to $200 billion . Gonzalez Rogers still over sees thousands of lawsuits by individuals, school districts, and state and local g over nments accusing social media companies of harming children. Meta itself still faces thousands of lawsuits by individuals, school districts and municipalities. The next trials are slated for October in Los Angeles. 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