Meta agrees $17bn teen addiction settlement, calls on TikTok and YouTube to follow suit

It took a landmark trial, but Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and overhaul how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook in the US – and is now calling on TikTok and YouTube to follow suit.

The settlement brings an early end to a federal trial in California, where dozens of US states accused Meta of designing its platforms to be addictive to young users, misleading the public about the risks and unlawfully collecting data from children under 13. Meta has denied wrongdoing throughout.

Under the agreement, teenagers will get a default two-hour daily limit across Instagram and Facebook combined, excluding time spent messaging, changing settings or watching videos longer than 22 minutes.

Teens will also get a pop-up reminder after 15 minutes of continuous scrolling, with further prompts at the 60- and 90-minute marks. They will be locked out of both apps between midnight and 6am, while push notifications will be switched off overnight between 10pm and 7am and during school hours from 8am to 3pm on weekdays.

The changes go beyond screen time. Meta must also respond to at least 90% of teen reports about harmful content within six hours. Filters that mimic cosmetic surgery will be banned, while visible like and reaction counts will be hidden from teens by default.

The company will also introduce stronger age-verification tools, which will be tested annually by independent assessors, and build technology specifically designed to detect and remove users under 13.

An independent auditor, jointly agreed by Meta and the states, will regularly assess the company's compliance and have access to internal data.

The changes will be introduced in phases, with Meta required to implement the first set of measures within six months.

A stricter second phase could apply if Snap, TikTok and YouTube adopt equivalent protections and matching age-verification standards. If that happens, the daily limit will fall to 60 minutes per individual app, with teenagers restricted to a combined 120 minutes across Meta's apps.

Meta chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said the company wants the framework adopted across the industry.

“Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution,” he said. “We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework, right away.”

According to The Times, Meta has said roughly 30% of the $17 billion payment will only be released if TikTok and YouTube adopt matching restrictions and make comparable payments themselves.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the settlement a major win for families.

“Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” he said.

“Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms – and will do it within months.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser described the agreement as a “monumental victory” that could set a new standard for how the wider social media industry designs products for teenagers.

The trial had already heard testimony from former Meta safety engineer turned whistleblower Arturo Béjar, who accused the company of taking a “don't ask, don't tell” approach to child safety.

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri had also begun testifying this week, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to take the stand later in the trial.