Meta Platforms has reached an $18 billion settlement with 42 U.S. states over allegations that the company intentionally designed its Facebook and Instagram apps to keep children addicted. The agreement, announced recently, falls well short of the $200 billion sought by state prosecutors and the $1.4 trillion in penalties that Meta’s legal team had warned could result from a potential loss. Nonetheless, the settlement includes significant changes aimed at limiting the ways teenagers interact with the platforms.

Key provisions require Meta to block children from accessing its apps during nighttime hours and to disable notifications during school hours. The company will also restrict daily screen time to two hours for users under 18, enforce stricter age verification to prevent those under 13 from using the apps, and remove public “like” counts as well as filters that simulate “extreme makeup” effects. These changes are designed to reduce the addictive elements of the apps and mitigate their impact on young users’ wellbeing.

The lawsuit, described by some as social media’s equivalent of the "Big Tobacco" moment, echoes the landmark tobacco settlements of the 1990s that led to a decline in youth smoking and introduced tighter regulation on advertising and product marketing. Advocates hope the Meta settlement will similarly curb excessive social media use among teenagers.

The legal battle spanned five years and continued up until the settlement announcement. During the proceedings, Meta faced accusations that it knowingly crafted features to foster compulsive use among children. Earlier this year, a jury awarded $6 million in damages to a plaintiff who claimed addiction to Instagram had adversely affected her childhood. Amid the scrutiny, Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified in a California court, asserting that the company had already enhanced child safety measures and provided parents with tools to oversee their children’s accounts.

For decades, U.S. internet laws granted social media firms broad protections from legal consequences related to content on their platforms. However, recent cases have challenged this immunity, pointing out that features such as recommendation algorithms, infinite scroll, and public popularity metrics indicate an active role in shaping user behavior rather than passive hosting.

As the settlement sets new operational standards, its long-term impact on youth social media consumption remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the case marks a significant shift in regulatory and public attitudes toward the responsibility of tech companies in addressing issues related to child mental health and digital addiction.