Meta settles states' child-safety claims for $18B; Florida rejects deal as "peanuts"
Summary
Meta agreed to settle lawsuits with nearly every US state by paying almost $18 billion and setting limits on how much time children can spend on its social media apps. The deal includes a two-hour daily limit for teens, restricted night use, and a school mode to reduce distractions, but Florida rejected the settlement and plans to continue fighting Meta in court.Key Facts
- Meta will pay about $16.7 billion to 47 states, D.C., and several territories, plus an additional $1 billion to Texas in a separate deal.
- The settlement includes a two-hour daily limit on Facebook and Instagram use for people under 18, which teens can only disable with parental permission.
- Meta will block app use between midnight and 6 a.m. by default for teens and mute notifications during school hours.
- Teens will get prompts after 15 minutes of continuous use and at 60 and 90 minutes of total daily use.
- If other major social media companies don’t make similar deals, Meta’s payment will reduce by $5 billion.
- Florida Attorney General rejected the settlement, calling it too small given the harm caused and plans to continue legal action.
- Some advocacy groups said the deal is not enough to change Meta’s business practices permanently.
- New Mexico won a separate state court case against Meta, resulting in fines and funds to address social media’s public harm, which Meta is appealing.
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