The settlement resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech giant accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to hook young people’s attention.
“For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health," Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said. The settlement "will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm.”
If approved by the court, the deal will stop an avalanche of litigation by states against Meta, although the company still faces lawsuits from individuals and school districts across the U.S. For the states, the settlement delivers money for programs to benefit kids’ mental health, including after-school or summer activities and digital literacy counselors.
Advocates cheered the new protections, including default time limits and the disabling of features such as “like” counts.
But “we cannot truly protect all children and teens until these protections are required on every platform and are permanent – that’s something only Congress can do,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the money would be paid out over 10 years, with the state getting at least $1.5 billion. New Jersey expects to receive at least $525 million. Massachusetts said it was in line for at least $366 million. Virginia's share is worth $353 million.
Meta urges rivals to adopt similar safety measures
Meta said in a blog post that it was “building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens.”
“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said. “We want to get this right for parents and teens, and that’s why we partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard."
The company urged rivals TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safety measures.
The $17 billion settlement is a fraction of Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion.
The agreement cuts short an ongoing court case involving California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, which were among 29 states that sued Meta in 2023. CEO Mark Zuckerberg was among those expected to take the stand before a jury in federal court in California.
The lawsuit accused Meta of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms and hiding them from the public. The case also argued that Meta violated federal laws by routinely collecting data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent.
