Utah and other states have reached a landmark $12.2 billion settlement with social media company Meta Platforms Inc.
As one of the largest consumer protection settlements in U.S. history, Wednesday’s agreement will force sweeping changes to how Instagram and Facebook are built for children and teens, subject to court approval.
The agreement resolves claims brought by Utah and over 40 other states and territories.
The claims allege Meta designed Instagram with addictive features, knowingly exposed young users to mental-health harms and misled the public about the safety of its platforms.
The settlement guarantees the states part of the $12.2 billion and up to $17.1 billion if Snap, TikTok and YouTube agree to similar terms as Meta.
Utah is expected to receive $212 million over the next 10 years.
The settlement requires Meta to implement a series of safety features on Instagram and Facebook including:
- Age assurance measures
- A combined two-hour daily time limit across Instagram and Facebook with mandatory “Productive Pause” breaks after 15, 60 and 90 minutes.
- “Nighttime blocks” restricting children’s access from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m.
- No push notifications to children on school-year weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and late at night.
- An option for a non-personalized feed for users under 18.
- Age-appropriate content controls with safeguards against bullying and content promoting eating disorders, suicide and self-harm.
- Stronger parental controls.
- Limits on social-comparison features linked to poor youth mental health, including beauty filters and visible “like” counts.
In a press release, the Utah Attorney General’s office advised parents to delay introducing social media to their kids for as long as possible, in addition to the increased youth-safety changes.
