New Jersey stands to collect up to $752 million under the sweeping deal
TRENTON, NJ — Meta could pay as much as $17.1 billion and must overhaul how Instagram and Facebook operate for children and teenagers under a multistate settlement that would impose time limits, overnight restrictions and new safeguards while delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to New Jersey.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced the agreement Wednesday, describing it as the largest state consumer protection settlement outside the Big Tobacco settlements of the 1990s.
The settlement is subject to court approval.
Meta will pay at least $12.1 billion and potentially as much as $17.1 billion to states involved in the litigation.
New Jersey is guaranteed at least $525 million and could receive more than $752 million, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The agreement resolves claims brought by 47 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The governments alleged Meta designed its platforms with addictive features, exposed young users to mental health harms and misled the public about the safety of its products.
Under the settlement, Meta must introduce a series of restrictions and safety measures affecting young Instagram and Facebook users.
Among the biggest changes is a combined two-hour daily limit for Instagram and Facebook, along with automatic pauses after 15 minutes of continuous use and again after 60 and 90 minutes. Those provisions are set to remain in place for five years.
If Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt comparable restrictions, the daily limit would fall to 60 minutes on each platform and remain in place for 10 years, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
The agreement also calls for nighttime blocks preventing youth access between midnight and 6 a.m.
During the school year, youth access would be limited and push notifications restricted on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Meta must also strengthen age-verification procedures and parental controls.
Additional provisions target bullying and content involving eating disorders, suicide and self-harm.
Social-comparison features would also face restrictions, including beauty filters and visible like counts associated in the litigation with negative mental health outcomes among young people.
Independent audits would monitor Meta’s implementation of the requirements and their effects.
The agreement follows a multistate investigation that New Jersey began co-leading in 2021. A lawsuit filed in 2023 accused Meta of designing and deploying Instagram and Facebook features that drove excessive use among children and teenagers while misleading users and families about the risks.
A trial over the states’ deception claims began in Oakland, California, last week.
New Jersey, California, Colorado and Kentucky led the trial team.
A separate agreement announced Wednesday resolves claims concerning Meta’s sharing of nonpublic Facebook user information with third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, ahead of the 2016 election.
Meta will pay more than $460 million to resolve those data-privacy claims, with New Jersey receiving more than $20 million.
The multistate settlement and its requirements will not take effect unless approved by the court.
Key Points
- Meta agreed to pay at least $12.1 billion and potentially up to $17.1 billion to settle multistate claims involving its treatment of children and teenagers on Instagram and Facebook.
- New Jersey will receive at least $525 million and could collect more than $752 million under the settlement.
- The proposed safeguards include youth time limits, midnight-to-6 a.m. access blocks, school-hour restrictions, stronger parental controls and additional protections involving harmful content.
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