Meta to Pay Over $16 Billion to Settle Social Media Addiction Claims Brought by States
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In a landmark moment, Meta has agreed to pay a massive settlement and make platform changes to resolve litigation brought by a group of U.S. states.
The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, will pay more than $16 billion to those states, bringing an end to a trial that had recently begun over claims that its platforms violate state consumer protection laws and negatively impact young users.
As part of the deal, Meta also agreed to make several notable changes to its platform. This includes daily usage limits for young users on Facebook and Instagram, as well as restrictions on overnight access and notifications during school hours.
Like counts and beauty filters that mimic cosmetic surgery will also be disabled for teens.
The settlement will need to receive approval from a judge before it can be formally completed and changes can be enacted.
“Removing visible like counts and cosmetic filters and placing time limits on young users are steps in the right direction,” said Whitney Di Bona, attorney and consumer safety advocate with Drugwatch. “My concern is that kids are smart and they will find workarounds to age verification, time restrictions and algorithm settings. But what stands out most to me about this settlement is the timeline. Meta is agreeing to make these massive platform changes in a matter of months. That tells you everything you need to know. These changes could have been made a long time ago. Instead, they chose to protect profits over kids.”
Meta, Other Tech Giants Still Face Thousands of Social Media Addiction Lawsuits
While the settlement is a significant development that could play a role in reshaping social media, it does not resolve all litigation involving popular platforms.
Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok are still facing thousands of social media lawsuits brought by individuals and families who claim that their apps were designed to be intentionally addictive and left users with severe mental health consequences.
One of those cases advanced to trial earlier this year, involving a 20-year-old woman who began using Instagram and YouTube from a young age and went on to develop significant mental health issues. A jury found that Meta and Google had been negligent and ordered the companies to pay her a combined $6 million.
All four companies are also facing a slew of lawsuits from school districts who claim that they fueled a youth mental health crisis across the nation and left schools to deal with the cost.
“I believe we’ll see a broader settlement soon covering the school districts and individual personal injury lawsuits,” Di Bona said. “This resolution signals that the industry knows its days of operating without accountability are numbered.”
More social media addiction trials are expected to take place late this year.