California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey were among the 29 states that sued the tech giant in 2023, but this settlement ends the trial, which was expected to include testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a jury in a California federal court.
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Attorney General Jay Jones stated in a statement that the value of this agreement in Virginia alone amounts to 353 million US dollars (303 million euros) and is one of the largest in the state’s consumer protection history.
“For years, Meta intentionally misled the public about addictive and harmful design features that destroyed the mental health of young people,” Jones said. “This agreement will put an end to this dangerous practice and provide significant relief that will protect children from harm online.”
Meta stated in a blog post that it “builds on its long-standing efforts to empower parents and support teens.”
“Ensuring that teens have safe and beneficial experiences on our platforms is an absolute necessity for Meta,” the company stated. “We want this to be right for parents and teens, so we have partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard.”
The company urged its competitors to adopt similar safety measures.
This $17 billion agreement is only a small fraction of Meta’s 2025 revenue, which reached $201 billion (172.6 billion euros).
Strict time limits
The lawsuit accused Meta of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by intentionally designing features that make children addicted to its platforms and concealing them from the public. It also alleged that Meta violated federal laws by regularly collecting data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent.
The trial began last week in Oakland, California, presided over by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri began his testimony on Tuesday evening, defending Meta’s achievements and progress in child safety and privacy.
Cases in other states were expected to be heard later. In addition, nine attorneys general filed lawsuits in their respective states.
Under the proposed agreement, Meta agreed to implement several safety features, including strict daily time limits and breaks for children using Instagram and Facebook.
It will eliminate direct notifications during school hours on weekdays and implement strict age verification measures and age-appropriate content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material about eating disorders and self-harm.
Stronger and more user-friendly parental controls will be implemented, and social comparison features, such as like counts, will be limited.
Smoke and mirrors
The federal lawsuit was the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont.
The investigation began after media reports – first published by The Wall Street Journal in 2021 – revealed that the company was aware of the harm Instagram could cause to teenagers when it came to mental health and body image issues.
Since then, Meta has implemented numerous safety features on Instagram, including separate accounts for teens with stronger messaging and privacy protections and content restrictions.
However, child safety experts and some former Meta employees have long argued that these features are just smoke and mirrors.
Former Meta engineering director Arturo Bejar testified last week that Meta consistently prioritized profit over safety in developing its products, focusing on how often and for how long people use them, even if it harmed their mental well-being.
“If you step away from the product, they won’t make any money,” he said.
Although the four states involved in the Oakland trial did not officially specify the amounts sought, Meta stated in court documents that financial penalties in this case could reach as high as $1.4 trillion – legal experts said such an amount is unlikely, if at all possible.
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