Facebook, Instagram agree to $17B settlement in states' suit

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general, including California’s Rob Bonta, have announced a $17 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, in a lawsuit over risks to youth.

The announcement comes after a federal trial was underway in Oakland, where Bonta et al. filed the lawsuit and had made opening arguments.

Speaking to reporters in a video news conference Wednesday, Bonta called the settlement a watershed moment.

“When it comes to protecting our children's mental health, there is no time to lose,” said Bonta.

In their lawsuit, the state attorneys general argued that Meta designed addictive, harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that drive excessive youth use, leading to severe mental and physical harm. The attorneys general also claimed Meta unlawfully collected data from children under 13 and misled the public about platform safety.

The suit was filed in 2023.

As part of the settlement, Meta has agreed to many changes that will be implemented over the coming months.

Examples include:

- Default 2-hour daily time limit for users under 18 (drops to 1 hour if other platforms commit to similar terms).

- Default access blocks from midnight to 6 a.m.

- Notification blocks overnight (10 p.m.–7 a.m.) and during school hours.

- Removal of cosmetic/plastic surgery filters and option for non-personalized feeds.

- Removal of public "like" counts on teen posts.

- Enhanced tools for parental supervision, age assurance, and removing users under 13.

- Ninety percent of user-reported harmful content reviewed within 6 hours.

- An independent auditor will monitor Meta's compliance.

Meanwhile, Meta will pay up to $17 billion over 10 years to participating states. California alone will receive $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion.

The Center Square asked Bonta what California would do with its money.

“It's generally going to be used for abatement and mitigation efforts to address the problem of social media harms to the mental health of children,” Bonta told The Center Square. “So it will help reduce the harm to children, help address those mental health issues that I've talked about from anxiety and depression to body image issues, to addictive tendencies, to learning loss.”

Bonta stressed that California wants innovative companies to continue to grow in the state, contribute to the economy, and employ people. However, Bonta said that “innovation is not a free pass to do as you please and hurt people” along the way.

Bonta also thanked the bipartisan coalition of attorneys general for their work in this case. He added that “bipartisan is not something you hear too often” these days.

“It speaks to the fact that protecting our children isn't and should not be political,” said Bonta. “It's a priority. It's our duty. It's a North Star for us."