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Meta Platforms agreed to pay a maximum of $16.68 billion as part of a settlement to resolve claims brought by states across the country \u200bthat the company designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children, misled consumers about their safety, and improperly collected personal data of children \u200cwho used its platforms, court papers show.<\/strong><\/p>\n The settlement was reached during a California federal trial over claims brought by 29 states, averting one of the highest-profile tests yet of allegations that social media companies harmed young users.<\/span><\/p>\n Meta also agreed to make changes for teenage users of Facebook and Instagram nationwide, including daily usage limits and nighttime blocks, court papers show.<\/span><\/p>\n The Menlo Park, California-based company \u200bdenied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.<\/span><\/p>\n Shares of Meta rose 4.4% in pre-market trading.<\/span><\/p>\n The claims were part of a broader wave of litigation brought by \u200bstates, local governments, school districts and individuals alleging Meta and other social media companies fueled a nationwide youth mental health crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n The \u2060federal trial covered claims from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that Meta violated their state laws protecting consumers.<\/span><\/p>\n It also covered claims from 29 states that \u200bMeta violated the federal Children\u2019s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting personal data from users it knew were children without parental notification or consent, and using the \u200bdata to train machine learning and generative AI models.<\/span><\/p>\n Meta has denied the allegations, saying it has worked hard to protect children on its platforms. The company had argued it could not have misled consumers about whether its services were addictive because \u201csocial media addiction\u201d is not a recognized psychiatric condition.<\/span><\/p>\n In a filing before the trial, Meta said California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey \u200bwere seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties. The states suggested before the trial began that the figure would be closer to $200 billion. The states were also seeking additional monetary \u200bdamages, plus an order directing Meta to make major changes to its platforms and to bar children from creating accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n Meta, Snapchat and its parent Snap, YouTube and \u200cits parent \u2060Alphabet, and TikTok and its parent ByteDance still face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts over claims they knowingly designed their platforms to have features that are addictive to children and teens, fueling a mental health crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n The federal cases were consolidated before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, and include lawsuits brought by individuals, school districts and state governments.<\/span><\/p>\n Thousands more cases against the companies are pending in state courts. A judge in Los Angeles is overseeing thousands \u200bof lawsuits brought by individuals who say \u200bthey or their loved ones were \u2060harmed by the platforms\u2019 designs.<\/span><\/p>\n Around 30 states have filed lawsuits against the companies in state courts, court records show. A trial has been ongoing in Nashville since July over claims brought by the state against Meta.<\/span><\/p>\n The settlement comes after Meta \u200blost both phases of a landmark lawsuit brought by New Mexico. A jury in March ordered it to pay $375 million \u200bafter finding it had \u2060misled consumers about the safety of its platforms. On August 6, a judge found Meta had created a public nuisance and ordered it to pay an additional $567 million and implement youth-safety measures.<\/span><\/p>\n Also in March, the first trial over an individual\u2019s claims against Meta and Google ended with a verdict in the plaintiff\u2019s favor. A Los Angeles jury found the \u2060companies liable \u200bfor plaintiff Kaley G.M.\u2019s depression and anxiety and ordered them to pay a combined $6 million in \u200bdamages.<\/span><\/p>\n The companies have said they will appeal those verdicts.<\/span><\/p>\nA MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS<\/span><\/h2>\n