Meta strikes $16.68B settlement, pledges teen-safety upgrades on Instagram and Facebook

Meta Platforms agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to settle a multi-state lawsuit alleging Instagram and Facebook hooked young users and mishandled data from under-13s. The deal imposes a suite of teen-safety features on Instagram and Facebook for five years, including a two-hour daily time limit with pauses at 15, 60 and 90 minutes, nighttime blocks (12 a.m.–6 a.m.), limited school-time access, stricter age verification, stronger parental controls, and safeguards against harmful content and excessive social comparisons, overseen by an independent auditor. If comparable terms are adopted by other apps, the daily limit could drop to 60 minutes for 10 years. The settlement ends the case as Nvidia earnings were awaited after the close on the same day.