Meta reached an agreement to settle a landmark case brought by states across the US that accused the tech giant of addicting and harming children with dangerous products, according to a court filing released on Wednesday.
The agreement will require the social media company to pay up to $17bn. Meta agreed to establish safeguards for teenage users, including daily usage limits and nighttime blocks nationwide in the US. This is the first time Meta has been forced to change how its platforms function. As part of the settlement, the company denies wrongdoing.
The jury trial, which took place in federal court in Oakland, California, began with opening statements just last week. California and 28 other US states sued the $1.36tn (£1tn) company for allegedly designing addictive products that lead to children being harmed. The states additionally claimed the social media company regularly collected data on children under the age of 13 without parental permission in violation of federal and state laws.
“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,” Rob Bonta, the attorney general for California, 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.”
Bonta said those changes included time limits, stopping notifications during school, a block on the app during critical overnight hours, bans on plastic surgery filters and more.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meta has denied all allegations throughout the proceedings, saying states are chasing an “outlandish payout”. A spokesperson said on Tuesday that Meta’s safety teams strive to be industry-leading and the company does research to find ways to improve user experience.
Meta faces thousands of similar US lawsuits brought by families, school districts and other attorneys general. The company lost the first two of those cases to go to trial in March. In the first, the company was ordered to pay nearly $1bn to the state of New Mexico for allowing child sexual exploitation on its platforms; and in the second, it was found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that hooked one young woman and was ordered to pay her more than $4m.
More details soon …
