Meta settles for $18 billion in lawsuit brought by 29 states over social media harms to children

Meta will pay up to $18 billion to settle claims from 29 states that it designed Instagram and Facebook to addict children and collected their data in violation of COPPA, without admitting wrongdoing. The settlement includes a 10-year plan imposing two-hour daily limits, night-mode blocks, hidden like counts and stricter age-verification, while $5.3 billion is contingent on YouTube and TikTok adopting comparable controls.