Meta has agreed to pay about $17 billion to resolve a landmark lawsuit with 52 U.S. attorneys general, who accused the social media giant of knowingly designing harmful, addictive products for young users. The settlement, announced Wednesday, requires the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to introduce a sweeping set of protections for minors on its platforms.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who co-led the effort, called the payout the highest ever in a case of this kind, but stressed that the financial penalty is not the core issue. “It is the business practices that they will change that will help protect the mental health of our kids,” Bonta told CNBC’s David Faber on “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday.
The settlement comes amid multiple trials Meta has faced this year related to alleged harms to young users. Under the terms, Meta will distribute the payments annually over a decade, and most of the mandated safeguards must remain in place for 10 years, according to the company’s statement. As of Friday afternoon, Meta’s market capitalization stood at $1.47 trillion, slightly up from $1.45 trillion at Tuesday’s market close.
New safeguards for minors
The settlement mandates daily time limits for kids across both Facebook and Instagram, along with parental controls and other features designed to create a safer online experience for users under 18. Most of the safeguards will roll out within six months, though some, like age assurance, may take up to a year, a Meta spokesperson told CNBC Make It. A majority of the new features will be implemented automatically in teen accounts, but parents and teens will need to manually disable autoplay and the algorithmic feed in their settings.
Laura Edelson, an assistant professor of computer sciences at Northeastern University who researches social media safety, says the ability to disable autoplay is particularly promising. Autoplay increases “usage duration,” so turning it off could help teens spend less time on the platforms. However, she notes the extra step required—going into settings to disable it—may be unrealistic for many kids, who simply won’t bother. The apps will periodically remind teens who haven’t disabled autoplay to do so, the spokesperson said.
Edelson also points out a key omission: the new features do not include the ability to disable infinite scroll, which automatically loads new content and encourages continued engagement. She calls it “the thing that I see as really missing here.” Meta’s spokesperson counters that infinite scroll becomes obsolete with a two-hour time limit designed to stop teens from scrolling too long.
Independent oversight
Another notable element of the settlement is the creation of an independent social media research foundation to advance research on teen well-being, plus an independent auditor that “will test and report to the states on Meta’s compliance with the agreement,” according to Meta’s statement. Edelson says such a foundation could help teens develop healthier relationships with social media if it provides “some kind of independent way to verify what platforms are doing, and whether they’re actually following through on these commitments.” Meta is still working out the details of these components.
Broader context
Meta is not alone in facing scrutiny over child safety. TikTok agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice on Aug. 21 to resolve allegations of children’s online privacy law violations. YouTube, which has faced similar litigation in the past, introduced new teen-focused protections in January, including parental time limits on YouTube Shorts.
The settlement funds “can be used to fund youth online safety initiatives, among other state priorities,” Meta said. Edelson, who co-authored a June 2026 research report finding that nearly 60% of social media safety features across the industry fail to protect young users effectively, notes that studies have linked higher screen time to poor mental and physical health in teens. About half of U.S. teenagers report spending at least four hours per day on social media, according to Gallup.
For parents, Edelson advises a tailored approach. “The right approach to social media is different for every kid, and will change over time as kids go through developmental stages and social environments,” she says. “Parents should talk to their kids regularly about their social media usage and help their kids understand what they are getting out of social media and how it makes them feel.”
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/28/new-meta-safeguards-teens.html
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