Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion over the next decade to settle a landmark child-safety lawsuit brought about by 29 state attorneys general, co-led by California’s Rob Bonta. The suit alleged Meta designed Instagram with intentionally addictive features and exposed younger users to serious mental harms while misleading the public about the platform’s safety. In addition to the payout, the social media company will make sweeping changes to its platform, including a default two-hour daily time limit on Facebook and Instagram for under-18 users, and will bring on an independent auditor.
