The settlement to pay up to 18 billion US dollars over the next 10 years by Meta is historic and one of the most significant legal developments involving a social media company in the world, particularly in the context of safety of children in this digital age. Meta Platform, Inc., which was previously known as Facebook, is a multinational technology company founded by Mark Zuckerberg and based in the United States. The company owns several widely used social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, making Meta one of the most valuable companies in the world with over billions of dollars in annual revenue. This settlement represents a significant financial consequence for the company while also highlighting the scale of the legal allegations concerning the protection of children and teenagers on its platforms.
What is the core issue?
In 2022, a group of U.S. states, represented through their respective Attorneys General, collectively filed a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) against Meta titled as In Re:Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The main challenge before the Court was that the platforms such as Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to keep young users addicted and engaged for longer periods, thereby allegedly causing harm to children and adolescents. The State also alleged that Meta violated U.S.’s Children Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA),1999 by harvesting personal data from children under the age of thirteen without parental consent. All these allegations were denied by Meta.
What was the settlement?: The case entered the trail stage on August 12, 2026, with the commencement of jury selection. However, before the trail could proceed to its conclusion, the parties announced a settlement on August 26,2026. The settlement was approved by District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers which required Meta to pay up to approximately 18 billion U.S. dollars distributed in annual installments over a 10 year period to 47 U.S. States and other U.S territories. In this case the parties have also waived all their rights to appeal. Meta has also assured to establish an independent social media research foundation and share consented user data to support research on teen well-being and online safety.
Key Protections introduced by Meta under the settlement: Besides the financial implications, the settlement also introduced several new protections and safeguards for teenage users, such as: 1) Daily Time Limit: A default two-hour daily usage limit across Facebook and Instagram. Teens can disable it only with parental permission.
2) Night Mode: Default restriction on using key app features between midnight and 6 a.m
3) School Mode: Notifications will be muted by default between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. except direct messages and important account safety or security alerts.
4) Regular Usage Prompts: Teens will receive reminders after every 15 minutes of continuous use, and when their total daily usage reaches 60 and 90 minutes.
5) Algorithmic Feed Control: Teens can choose a non-algorithmic, non-personalised feed as their default, and parents can choose to adjust their teen’s default experience to require this setting.
6) Autoplay Control: Teens can turn off autoplay, while parents may require autoplay to remain disabled.
7) Hidden Likes: The number of likes and reactions will be hidden from teens by default
8) Restrictions on Certain Filters: Cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters will be restricted for teenage users.
9) Age Assurance: Meta will strengthen technology to identify users who may be under 13 and users aged 13-17, including where a user provides an incorrect adult age.
10) Protection from Strangers: Teen accounts will have stronger privacy protections, and potentially suspicious adults will face greater restrictions on finding, contacting, following or interacting with teens.
What about us?: This settlement is legally binding only within the jurisdiction covered by the agreement however, its implications may have a much wider impact. The issued raised in the case about the protection of children and its impacts resonate all over the world including India. Therefore, the settlement may serve as an important model for other countries, including India considering the legal responsibility of such platforms towards children and teens. While India already has laws dealing with children’s safety and personal data in the digital environment like Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, The Information Technology Rules, 2021, POCSO Act, 2012 etc., however, there remains scope for more specific regulations of social media platforms. The larger lesson from this litigation can be that the protection of children should not only be limited to children and their parents, but should also recognize the responsibility of digital platforms that design and operate this space.
Toshimenla Jamir
Advocate, Kohima
Sunday, August 30, 2026