Meta has reached an out-of-court settlement with some 30 US states that accused it of fostering underage addiction to Facebook and Instagram. The tech company will pay up to $16,8 billion to settle the lawsuits filed against it in the United States. It had faced up to $200 billion in penalties, according to the prosecution.
The agreement also includes several changes designed to better protect teenagers. Meta will notably have to enable daily usage limits by default, implement nighttime blocks, and strengthen age verification on its platforms. These measures are intended to reduce young users' prolonged exposure to mechanisms designed to capture their attention.
Internal documents at the origin of the case
The dispute stems from revelations by Frances Haugen, a former Facebook engineer turned whistleblower. In the fall of 2021, she leaked thousands of internal documents suggesting that the company was aware of the potential impact of its services on the mental health of teenagers, particularly young girls.
These revelations led dozens of states to launch a joint investigation. Prosecutors accused Meta of designing features that could encourage compulsive use, illegally collecting data from children under 13, and downplaying the risks posed by its platforms. The agreement ends the relevant federal lawsuits, but does not resolve the ongoing debate about social media companies' responsibility toward minors.
