Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states in landmark trial over teen social media addiction

Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states in landmark trial over teen social media addiction 1 of 5 | Lennon Torres of Heat Initiative holds a banner with names of young people who advocates say died as a result of social media outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) 2 of 5 | Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, arrives in court to testify in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children, in Los Angeles, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) 3 of 5 | Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser, right, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, left, join New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport as she discusses a lawsuit against Meta during a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) 4 of 5 | California Attorney General Rob Bonta discusses a lawsuit against Meta during a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Oakland, Calif. At right is New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) 5 of 5 | Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser discusses a lawsuit against Meta during a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) By BARBARA ORTUTAY and KELVIN CHAN Updated 4:04 PM MESZ, August 26, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced Wednesday. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were among 29 states that sued the tech giant in 2023, but the deal cuts short the trial, which was expected to see CEO Mark Zuckerberg take the stand before a jury in federal court in California. The agreement is worth $353 million in Virginia alone and is one of the biggest in state consumer protection history, Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement. “For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health,” Jones said. The settlement “will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm.” Meta said in a blog post that it was “building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens.” “Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said. “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 company urged its rivals to adopt similar safety measures. Instagram chief takes the stand in a trial pitting Meta against states over social media harms 3 MIN READ Meta defends its child safety efforts but critics say the social media giant falls short 4 MIN READ 42 Former Meta engineer says Instagram took a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach on kids under 13 4 MIN READ 15 The $17 billion settlement is a fraction of Meta’s 2025 revenue of $201 billion. The lawsuit accused Meta of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms and hiding them from the public. It also argued that Meta violated federal laws by routinely collecting data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent. The trial kicked off last week in Oakland, California, with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers overseeing the proceedings. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, began his testimony late Tuesday and defended Meta’s record and progress on child safety and privacy. The cases in other states had been expected to go to trial later. In addition, nine attorneys general filed lawsuits in their respective states. Under the proposed settlement, Meta agreed to adopt a series of safety features, including a “hard cap” on daily time limits and pauses for children using Instagram and Facebook. It will eliminate push notifications during weekday school hours and bring in “robust” age-assurance measures and “age-appropriate” content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material about eating disorders and self-harm. There will be stronger and more user-friendly parental controls and limits on social comparison features such as “like” counts. The federal lawsuit was the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont. It followed newspaper reports, first by The Wall Street Journal in 2021, that found that the company knew about the harm Instagram can cause teenagers — especially teen girls — when it comes to mental health and body image issues. Meta has since added a host of safety features to Instagram, including separate accounts for teenagers with stronger protections around messaging and privacy, along with content restrictions. But child safety experts, along with some former Meta employees, have long contended that the features are little more than window dressing. Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineering director, said during his testimony last week that Meta consistently prioritized profits over safety in designing its products, focusing on how often and for how long people used them, even if it was detrimental to their mental well-being. “If you step away from the product, they are not going to make any money,” he said. While the four states in the Oakland trial did not officially say how much they had been seeking, Meta said in a court filing that financial penalties in the case could amount to as much as $1.4 trillion — a figure legal experts said was unlikely, if not impossible. Chan reported from London. Associated Press Writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report. BARBARA ORTUTAY Ortutay writes about social media and the internet for The Associated Press. mailto KELVIN CHAN Chan covers technology and innovation in Europe and beyond for The Associated Press. twitter mailto