Meta to Pay Up to $17 Billion to Settle US States' Lawsuits Over Youth Social Media Addiction
30 sources across 15 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- G1
- UOL
- CNN Brasil
- Folha de S.Paulo
- Der Spiegel
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- Deutsche Welle
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- MS NOW
- CNN
- WIRED
- Associated Press
- Le Monde
- France 24
- Next.ink
- The Guardian
- Financial Times
- Reuters
- Clarin
- Infobae
- ANSA
- Corriere della Sera
- Politico Europe
- La Tercera
- South China Morning Post
- Telex
- Aftenposten
- Rappler
- Al Jazeera
- El Pais
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
Meta has reached a settlement agreement with 47 US states, the District of Columbia, and US territories to pay up to $17.1 billion to resolve lawsuits alleging the company designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and adolescents. The agreement, which must be approved by a federal judge in Oakland, California, ends a landmark trial involving claims that Meta violated federal child privacy laws and state consumer protection laws. The company will initially pay approximately $12 billion over ten years. The total amount may rise to $17.1 billion if other industry members, including TikTok, YouTube, and Snap, also agree to similar penalties and product changes.
As part of the deal, Meta will implement several safety features for users under 18. These include a default two hour daily time limit across Instagram and Facebook, a night mode that blocks access between midnight and 6 a.m. and the muting of notifications during school hours. Meta also agreed to hide like counts and reactions by default, disable cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters, and provide parents with more control over algorithmic feeds and autoplay settings. The company will also implement stronger age verification measures and report to an independent auditor for five years.
Meta denied any wrongdoing and argued that social media addiction is not a recognized psychiatric condition. However, the company stated that these changes are intended to set a new industry standard for teen safety. The settlement avoids a potentially more costly verdict, as some states had sought up to $200 billion in damages, while Meta estimated potential liabilities as high as $1.4 trillion. Meta continues to face thousands of other lawsuits from school districts and individuals regarding youth mental health harms.
How each side framed it
- Left
- This outlet framed the settlement as a victory for parents and a necessary step to combat a youth mental health crisis.
- Centre-left
- These outlets emphasized the harmful effects of the platforms on youth mental health and the necessity of the product changes.
- Centre
- These outlets focused on the legal and regulatory implications, describing the settlement as a potential turning point for the industry.
- Centre-right
- These outlets highlighted Meta's denial of wrongdoing and the company's argument that social media addiction is not a recognized medical diagnosis.
Sources
- Centre ANSA: Social media addiction, 'Meta settles and pays 16.7 billion'
- Centre-right Aftenposten: Must pay billion sum
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: Meta agrees to settlement, platform changes in youth addiction case
- Centre Associated Press: Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states in landmark trial over teen social media addiction - AP News
- Centre-left CNN: Meta settles landmark child harm case for $18 billion and promises changes to its platforms
- Centre CNN Brasil: Meta closes R$ 86 billion agreement in lawsuit over social media addiction
- Centre-right Clarin: Meta agrees to pay nearly US$ 17 billion to avoid a trial for inciting social network addiction
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: Meta will pay up to 16.7 billion to close the trial against its social networks (accused of creating addiction in minors)
- Centre-left Der Spiegel: Meta: Facebook group pays more than 16 billion dollars to US states, settlement in trial over dangers of social media dangers
- Centre Deutsche Welle: Meta settles in US states lawsuit on teen user addiction
- Centre-left El Pais: Meta will pay nearly 18 billion dollars to settle lawsuits over teenage addiction to its tools
- Centre Financial Times: Meta to pay up to $16.7bn to settle children’s social media harm case
- Centre Folha de S.Paulo: Meta reaches agreement and accepts to pay up to US$ 17.1 billion to US states for addictive social networks
- Centre France 24: Social networks: Meta pays 16 billion dollars to end its trial
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: Psychological damage: How gambling machines work for teenagers
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: Agreement on settlement: Meta pays 17 billion dollars in social media lawsuit
- Centre-left G1: Meta to pay R$ 86 billion in settlement over allegations of children's addiction to social networks in the US
- Centre-right Infobae: Meta agrees to pay more than USD 16,000 million to settle a lawsuit over the use of its social networks among children and adolescents
- Centre-right Infobae: Meta agrees to pay 18,000 million to resolve the lawsuit over the damage social networks do to teenagers
- Centre-right La Tercera: Meta reaches 16.68 billion dollar agreement for damages that social networks cause to children
- Centre-right La Tercera: Meta reaches agreement and will pay almost US$17 billion to end trial for "harming the mental health" of minors
- Centre-left Le Monde: Social media addiction: agreement between US states and the Meta group, which will pay more than 16 billion dollars
- Left MS NOW: Meta settles social media addiction lawsuit for up to $17 billion, agrees to app changes
- Centre Next.ink: Addiction to Meta platforms: an 18 billion dollar agreement to settle the trial
- Centre Politico Europe: Meta agrees to pay $17B, adopt kids’ safety features to resolve US lawsuits
- Centre-left Rappler: Meta reaches $16.68 billion settlement over social media harms to children
- Centre Reuters: Meta reaches $16.68 billion settlement over social media harms to children - Reuters
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: Meta agrees to pay US$17 billion to settle teen social media addiction case in US
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Social media trial: Meta and US states agree on settlement
- Centre Telex: Meta's giant lawsuit ended with a 17 billion dollar settlement, they committed to limiting youth access in America
- Centre-left The Guardian: Meta agrees to major changes to Facebook and Instagram as it settles US trial over teen addiction for up to $17bn
- Centre-left UOL: Meta reaches agreement and accepts to pay up to US$ 17.1 billion to US states for addictive social networks
- Centre-left WIRED: Meta Will Pay Up to $16.7 Billion to Settle Its Social Media Harms Case—and That’s Not All
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.