Meta agrees to $18 billion US teen safety settlement as global regulators demand parity

Terms of the US agreement

Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion, with other source tallies citing $18 billion, over a ten-year period to resolve legal action brought by US state attorneys general. State filings had accused the company of marketing addictive features that harmed youth mental health. Meta, valued at $1.47 trillion, had previously told the court that it faced potential liability reaching $1.4 trillion, while the states originally sought $200 billion. Nearly one-third of the final financial penalty is contingent on competing platforms adopting identical safety standards. Meta shares rose by an initial 5% before closing with a gain of just over 1.25%.

The settlement mandates specific product modifications across Instagram and Facebook. Meta will institute a two-hour daily limit for minors, block access during nighttime and school hours, turn off cosmetic facial filters, disable automatic "like" counts, strengthen age verification, and provide non-algorithmic feeds. Parental controls and safety measures will shift from optional add-ons to default settings.

Pressure on industry rivals

Following the agreement, Meta launched a public campaign that included full-page advertisements in national US newspapers and an open letter addressed to competitors. The company called on TikTok and YouTube to introduce the same age-verification and usage limits, arguing that isolated actions on single platforms remain insufficient.

These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers -- TikTok and YouTube -- to put the same measures in place.

Meta maintained that without uniform industry adoption, teenagers simply migrate to competing applications when restricted on Facebook or Instagram. Lori Schott, whose 18-year-old daughter died by suicide, called the settlement a positive step after years of campaigning against platform harms.

European regulators push for parity

The American agreement prompted scrutiny from European Union officials and civil society organisations over whether the changes would apply internationally. In Brussels, European lawmakers pointed out that the Digital Services Act, enacted in 2023, already addresses nine of the twelve safety measures included in the US agreement. German lawmaker Andreas Schwab stated that Meta must align its European policies with its American commitments, while Spanish lawmaker Laura Ballarín Cereza asked the European Commission how it will prevent European children from receiving weaker protections.

Ironically, 9 measures out of 12 are covered by the [Digital Services Act], our law since 2023. U.S. courts are going faster than the EU Commission. We must ENFORCE DSA NOW!

In Dublin, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties sent formal inquiries to Meta head of public policy Dualta O Broin, as well as to Irish leadership at TikTok and YouTube, requesting timeframes for rolling out equivalent protections across Europe.

Global restrictions and enforcement hurdles

Around 40 countries are debating, proposing, or enforcing limits on minors using social networks. However, existing national bans have encountered operational obstacles. In Australia, where legislation barring users under 16 took effect in December, government data found that over 80% of surveyed children still accessed age-restricted platforms three months later through virtual private networks and age-screening workarounds. Indonesia launched an under-16 ban in March, and Malaysia has initiated similar regulatory steps.