Meta settles US teen-safety case for up to $18 billion
What's new: The deal ties $5.3 billion to whether TikTok and YouTube adopt similar safeguards for younger users.
Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years to settle a landmark U.S. lawsuit accusing Facebook and Instagram of harming children and misleading the public about teen safety. The deal ends a federal trial in California and requires product changes for users under 18, including a default two-hour daily limit that parents must lift, stricter age checks, muted overnight notifications and limits on some appearance-altering filters. CNBC reported Meta will pay about $12.7 billion, with the remaining $5.3 billion contingent on rivals such as TikTok and YouTube making comparable changes. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the case puts the wider social media industry on notice.