Zuckerberg's Meta to pay $16.68 billion for deliberately making Instagram and Facebook addictive to children

• Meta agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by 29 US states.

• The states accused Facebook and Instagram of deliberately encouraging compulsive use among children.

• Meta agreed to introduce new restrictions and safety measures for younger users while denying wrongdoing.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to settle a landmark lawsuit brought by 29 US state attorneys general who alleged the company deliberately engineered its platforms to addict children and misled the public about the harm they caused.

The settlement was disclosed in court filings on Wednesday, bringing a sudden end to a federal trial that had been underway in Oakland, California. Meta denied any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.

The case, co-led by California, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky, accused Meta of using product features that encouraged compulsive use among young people and contributed to a broader youth mental health crisis across the United States.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the settlement would make social media less dangerous for children, describing the changes Meta agreed to as massive transformations that would take effect within months.

Beyond the financial payment, the settlement requires Meta to make significant changes to how Facebook and Instagram operate for younger users.

READ ALSO: KAI rescues baby at Lagos junkyard two weeks after finding nursing mothers at same site

The company must introduce daily usage limits for teenagers, block them from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 am, restrict notifications during school hours and strengthen age verification systems to prevent children from accessing the platforms entirely.

Meta is also required to create new tools giving parents and guardians greater control over their children's use of both apps.

The $16.68 billion figure makes this the largest settlement Meta has ever agreed to, though it represents a fraction of what the states had originally sought. Ahead of the trial, the attorneys general had argued that a realistic penalty could reach approximately $200 billion.

The settlement could rise to $17.1 billion if other major social media companies, including TikTok and YouTube, agree to adopt comparable child safety measures.

READ ALSO: Nurse who died at Minister Umahi's home had a hole in her heart, family reveals cause of death

Meta said it expects to record a legal expense of approximately $10 billion in the third quarter of 2026 related to the agreement. The company's shares rose approximately 4.4 per cent in premarket trading after the settlement was announced, suggesting investors viewed it as removing a much larger financial risk.

The deal still requires court approval before it takes effect.