Washington, D.C. — Meta today agreed to a settlement of approximately $18 billion in a landmark case brought by a bipartisan coalition of 29 states over claims that the Big Tech company downplayed and misrepresented the mental health risks that its platforms pose to children. The settlement, which came one day after Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testified at trial in California, and before Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was expected to take the stand, will require a judge’s approval. In response, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement calling for further action by congress:

“Today’s settlement is the beginning of a new relationship between Big Tech and the public,” said Nidhi Hegde, Executive Director at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Meta’s settlement is an acknowledgement of what we already know: digital platforms like Meta are public utilities and it’s time they be held accountable as such. The settlement sets the stage for real enforcement that Congress can, and should, take to regulate a public body.”

“State attorneys general deserve enormous credit for standing up to Big Tech and fighting to protect kids from corporate practices that profit from media that preys on young, impressionable children and can have horrific outcomes like encouraging teen suicide,” Hegde added. “While the Trump administration is fine with social media companies harming your kids, states stepped up to enforce the law and take on some of the most powerful companies in the world. The settlement, however, is still up for a review by a judge and not binding beyond a decade. More importantly, it’s a step in the right direction but not the comprehensive, and necessary regulation the public has been demanding of Big Tech. We can’t be dependent on just state AGs in the long-term, or the whims of a legal system that is frequently corporately-captured. The time for federal and congressional action is now.”

As part of the settlement, which is set to expire after a decade, Meta committed to establishing strict rules for teenage users, including a default two-hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram that requires a parent’s permission to disable, blocks on nighttime use, hiding likes on teens’ posts by default, the ability for teens to choose a non-algorithmic feed as their default, and enhanced age assurance measures to prevent children from accessing the platforms. Settlement funds can be used to support youth online safety initiatives, among other state priorities. These features will be independently evaluated on an ongoing basis by an outside auditor and the settling states. 

The states’ case was co-led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Colorado AG Phil Weiser, New Jersey’s Jennifer Davenport, and Kentucky’s Russell Coleman. Meta said the settlement is part of a nationwide agreement with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier rejected the settlement terms calling it a “weak payoff attempt” and plans to take the Big Tech giant to trial. The settlement releases Meta from civil claims, but expressly states that Meta is not released from criminal liability.

Economic Liberties is calling on congress to take clear and direct action to rein in and regulate Meta and other Big Tech giants, as they would for any public utility.  

This follows the Trump Department of Justice’s meager $400 million settlement with TikTok last week for a similarly egregious set of violations of kids’ privacy.

See more in Economic Liberties’ Big Tech Abuse Tracker.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.