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Meta to Pay Up to $17.1 Billion and Implement Child Safety Reforms Following Multistate Settlement

Fine: $17.1 Billion

Social media giant Meta will pay up to USD 17.1 billion to states and implement transformative changes to its platforms following a landmark settlement announced by New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 50 other attorneys general on August 26 2026. This agreement addresses claims that Meta designed features harmful to children and teens, requiring the company to restrict minors time on Facebook and Instagram.

The settlement, subject to court approval, mandates Meta to implement significant changes to protect young users. Meta must verify user ages to identify those under 18, using a process similar to New Yorks Safe for Kids Act. The company will impose strict time limits on users under 18, restricting them to two hours per day across Facebook and Instagram, with messaging exceptions. Additionally, minors will not be able to access these platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. or receive push notifications between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., with further notification limits during school hours. To encourage breaks, Meta will pause content and send mindfulness reminders to users under 18 after 60 and 90 minutes of cumulative use daily, and during continuous sessions lasting over 15 minutes. Users under 18 will also have the option to select non algorithmic feeds, showing content only from followed accounts in chronological order. Parents can set non algorithmic feeds as default via Metas Parental Supervision feature. Young users will be barred from seeing likes and other reactions on posts and will have in app tools to report inappropriate content. Parents explicit permission will be required to disable these time and content restrictions. These restrictions will last at least five years and will strengthen if other major social media platforms reach similar settlements, potentially leading to a second phase of stricter limits lasting ten years, including a 60 minute daily limit per platform for users under 18.

The 2023 lawsuit against Meta by 32 attorneys general highlighted the ongoing concern regarding social media platforms design and its impact on young people.

Settlement Agreement

Who this binds
Social media platforms operating in the United States, specifically Meta, are bound by the terms of this multistate settlement.
What changed
Meta must now implement age verification and daily time limits of two hours for users under 18 on Facebook and Instagram, a concrete delta from previous practices.
What to watch
Organisations should watch for the strengthening of these restrictions if other major social media platforms reach similar settlements, potentially leading to a ten year phase of stricter limits.
What this does not mean
This settlement does not directly apply to social media companies other than Meta, although it sets a standard for future agreements.

Not settled: The settlement remains subject to court approval.

Send this to your team

New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 50 other attorneys general secured a settlement with Meta on August 26 2026, requiring Meta to pay up to USD 17.1 billion and implement significant child safety reforms, including daily time limits for minors on Facebook and Instagram.

Today's question

A social media platform is designing a new feature for users under 18. Following recent enforcement actions, which of the following is the most critical design principle to incorporate to mitigate legal risk related to child privacy?

  1. Implementing robust age verification and privacy by default settings.
  2. Ensuring all content is age appropriate for a general audience.
  3. Providing extensive parental control dashboards and activity logs.
  4. Offering educational resources on online safety within the app.

Answer this question on the site

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Compiled that morning from regulator, court and authority sources. Primary sources are linked on every story.