Meta Settles Child Safety Claims with States for $18 Billion

<p>Meta has agreed to impose daily limits on children's social media use and pay nearly $18 billion in settlements with nearly every U.S. state, as announced on August 26, 2026. This agreement comes as a resolution to claims that several states were demanding over $1.4 trillion from the company. The settlement is pending court approval.</p><p>Claims against Meta include allegations that it designed its products to encourage compulsive use among children and failed to adequately warn users about addiction and mental health risks. As part of the settlement, Meta stated that it will implement a default two-hour daily time limit for users under 18, which can only be overridden with parental permission. Additionally, there will be a default block on usage between midnight and 6 a.m., and a school mode that mutes notifications from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.</p><p>The two-hour daily limit will be cumulative across Facebook and Instagram, with time spent on both platforms counting toward the total. Meta indicated that teens will receive prompts after every 15 minutes of continuous screen time on either platform, as well as notifications when their total daily usage reaches 60 minutes and 90 minutes.</p>