Meta settles with 52 states for $18B, adds teen usage limits to Instagram and Facebook
Meta has agreed to pay roughly $18 billion to resolve claims from 52 state attorneys general that its platforms harmed teen mental health, without admitting wrongdoing. As part of the deal, it will roll out default teen protections including a two-hour daily usage cap, a nighttime mode that disables feeds and Reels from midnight to 6 a.m., and muted notifications during school hours, while still allowing direct messaging.
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About $5.3 billion of the settlement is contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting comparable safeguards, effectively pressuring the whole industry toward standardized teen-safety defaults. This marks one of the largest financial reckonings yet over social media's alleged role in youth mental health, and could reshape how platforms design engagement features for minors going forward.
- Meta will pay about $18 billion to settle claims from 52 attorneys general over teen mental health harms.
- New default protections include a two-hour daily limit, nighttime shutdowns, and school-hours notification muting.
- Roughly $5.3 billion depends on TikTok and YouTube adopting similar teen safety measures.
Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Tablet — If Meta's new teen time limits have you thinking about screen habits at home, this tablet ships with Amazon Kids parental controls built in, so you can set daily time limits, bedtime curfews, and approve which apps and sites are allowed. It's a simple way to give younger kids a device without handing over the full social media firehose.
See Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Tablet on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: androidauthority.com, 2026-08-26
Published there as: “Meta will pay $18 billion for teen safety, asks TikTok and YouTube to follow suit”
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