Meta agrees to historic $16.7B settlement over claims social media platforms harm children

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has agreed to pay up to $16.7 billion as part of a historic settlement with 29 state attorneys general who alleged the company purposely built Instagram and Facebook to addict kids.

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The agreement includes a commitment from Meta to make design changes to the apps, including imposing daily usage limits, “nighttime blocks” on app usage before bed and “enhanced age assurance measures” to ensure underage kids can’t use Facebook or Instagram, according to a court filing Wednesday.

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Meta shares popped 4% in premarket trading on news of the settlement, which was announced just days into a landmark trial in California federal court. Both Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri had been set to testify.

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