Meta to Pay up to $18 Billion in Settlement With 29 States Over Social-Media Addiction Claims

Meta will pay up to $18 billion over 10 years — and implement broad child-safety reforms on Instagram and Facebook — under a nationwide settlement with 29 state attorneys general, including California’s Rob Bonta.

The agreement, subject to court approval, resolves claims by the state AGs that Meta designed Instagram with addictive features, knowingly exposed young users to serious mental harms, and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platforms, among other things.

The case, brought by a group of 29 states, was co-led by California’s Bonta — who is currently locked in a standoff with Paramount over an antitrust suit seeking to block its Warner Bros. Discovery takeover — and AGs from Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky.

The settlement comes after the trial in the case began on Aug. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Meta said the agreement includes a payment of approximately $18 billion, which “can be used to fund youth online safety initiatives, among other state priorities.” The social media giant said the payment will be distributed in annual installments over a 10-year period. Participating states will receive approximately 70% (approximately $12.7 billion) of the allocated payment over the decade. The remaining 30% (approximately $5.3 billion) will be released only after two specific conditions are met: If YouTube and TikTok implement a one-hour daily limit, night mode, and age assurance measures; and YouTube and TikTok each pay an amount matching the 30% figure, with half of the remaining funds tied to YouTube’s payment and half tied to TikTok’s.

In a statement, Meta chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said: “I’m pleased to announce that Meta has reached an agreement with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general from around the country on a new set of rules governing teens’ use of social media. The framework we’ve negotiated will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms. Our new Time Limit commitments, Night Mode features and usage limits during school hours set the right path forward for our whole industry, but this framework will only work if all our peers join us.”

Mahoney’s statement continued, “Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution. We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework, right away. As a parent, I’m proud of both the work Meta has done to protect kids historically, and of this new groundbreaking agreement. But its success depends on all other social media platforms following Meta’s lead.”

Meta said it expect to accrue a legal expense of approximately $10 billion in the third quarter of 2026 related to the agreement.

California alone will receive $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion from Meta if the settlement is approved by the court.

“Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” Bonta said in a statement. “Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months.”

Added Bonta, “Alongside a bipartisan coalition of my colleagues, I am proud to deliver this settlement that addresses the concerns at the core of our lawsuit and institutes real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children on Facebook and Instagram — right now, no more waiting.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser commented, “The relief we are getting in this settlement is very meaningful and well beyond what any court has ordered or is likely to order. The focus of this case was to protect our kids — stopping notifications and alerts at night and when they are in school, encouraging them to take breaks from social media, protecting them against harmful features, implementing age assurance technology, and more. Today’s action is an important step forward and I welcome Meta’s decision to accept responsibility and to collaborate with the multistate coalition to protect kids who deserve better.”

The settlement requires Meta to implement a series of safety features on Instagram and Facebook, including:

Both the implementation and effectiveness of the features required under the settlement will be “regularly assessed” by an independent auditor, reviewing Meta’s compliance with its terms annually for five years.

Beginning in 2021, the state attorneys general across the U.S. launched an investigation into the social media industry for designing and promoting platforms to children and teens despite known harms. After finding that Meta “designed Instagram’s features to addict children while internally documenting the resulting mental health harms and failing to warn parents,” the 29 AGs in 2023 sued Meta individually or as part of a consolidated federal lawsuit. The settlement announced Wednesday resolves those cases, including the states’ ongoing trial in federal court in Oakland, and claims by the other settling states and territories.

The settlement also separately resolves the states’ claims against Meta for its sharing of nonpublic information about Facebook users with third parties, like Cambridge Analytica, to garner support for political candidates leading up to the 2016 election.

The attorneys general participating in the settlement are from: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.