Meta to pay up to $18 billion in settlement over youth mental health claims

Meta has reached a massive settlement to resolve claims from 47 U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were intentionally designed to be addictive and harmful to the mental health of young users. The company has agreed to pay penalties totaling between $17.1 billion and $18 billion over the next decade.

As part of the agreement, Meta will implement several platform changes for users under 18. These include blocking app access during late-night hours, suspending notifications during school hours, and implementing daily usage limits of two hours across Instagram and Facebook. The settlement also includes productivity breaks to interrupt continuous scrolling every 60 minutes.

Despite these concessions, the settlement does not restrict Meta from collecting data from young users or using that data to serve targeted advertisements. Critics note that while the company is making adjustments to user engagement mechanics, its core surveillance-based advertising business model remains largely intact.