PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Dozens of states have reached a sweeping consumer settlement with Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, after accusing the social media giant of deliberately designing its platforms to keep children and teenagers addicted.<\/p>\n
The agreement follows a federal trial in California and still requires a judge’s approval.<\/p>\n
State leaders in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware praised what they called a historic $18 billion settlement.<\/p>\n
Under the nationwide agreement, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will receive hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
Officials emphasized that while Meta’s $18 billion nationwide payout represents a small fraction of a company valued at $1.5 trillion, the safeguards included in the settlement are what they consider most critical.<\/p>\n
“It represents a seismic change,” said Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings.<\/p>\n
Jennings described the settlement as lasting change for Facebook and Instagram, which she and others accused of creating addictive and harmful content.<\/p>\n
Delaware will receive roughly $100 million over 10 years.<\/p>\n
“We were committed to real change with this suit and real change going forward,” Jennings said.<\/p>\n
As part of the historic settlement, Meta must implement new youth controls for users under 18.<\/p>\n
Those include daily use limits with a two-hour maximum that include 15-minute pauses after continuous use, improved age verification measures and restricted access that limits use during school hours and from midnight to 6 a.m.<\/p>\n
“Parents will have more user-friendly tools to better understand what their children are looking at and how they are using the platform,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said.<\/p>\n
He noted Pennsylvania will receive more than $500 million, as will New Jersey.<\/p>\n
All three states could receive tens of millions more if TikTok and YouTube adopt similar changes.<\/p>\n
Critics, however, argue the financial penalties are not steep enough for a company Meta’s size.<\/p>\n
As part of the settlement, Meta did not admit wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
In a video statement, Meta said it remains committed to a safe and productive experience and called for broader industry changes.<\/p>\n
“This framework will only work if all of our peers join us… because teens move fluidly between different apps… we need an industry-wide solution,” said C.J. Mahoney, Meta’s chief legal officer.<\/p>\n
A federal judge must still approve the settlement.<\/p>\n
If that happens, Meta will have six months to implement the required safeguards.<\/p>\n
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