Meta has reached a significant settlement involving changes to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, following allegations from California and 28 other US states. The states claimed that the social media giant’s platforms contributed to harmful and addictive behaviors among teenagers. As part of the agreement, Meta will implement a series of new protections for young users across the country.

The agreed measures include setting daily usage limits for teenagers, restricting notifications during school hours, and limiting access to the apps overnight. Additionally, the company will curtail the use of certain plastic surgery filters that target young users. These steps are intended to address concerns that Meta’s platforms encouraged extensive screen time among teenagers.

Financially, the settlement could lead Meta to pay as much as $18 billion, with the funds being distributed among the participating states over a decade, pending court approval. California stands to gain between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion, while Colorado is expected to receive approximately $615 million. This financial component follows accusations that Meta deliberately designed its platforms to maximize time spent by young users and improperly collected data from children under the age of 13 without adequate parental consent.

While Meta has denied any wrongdoing, the company emphasized that similar protective measures should be adopted by other major social media platforms, such as TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, for the settlement to be most effective. This agreement emerges amid a backdrop of thousands of lawsuits from families, educational institutions, and government officials targeting Meta and other social media firms for the alleged negative impact of social media on children and teenagers.