Meta agreed to pay states and add new safety limits for teens on Facebook and Instagram. State attorneys general announced the deal on August 26, 2026. But two things limit how much changes right now. A federal court in Oakland, California must still approve the deal. And some of the strongest limits take full effect only if rival apps agree to match them.
Under the deal, Meta would set a default daily time limit of two hours for users under 18, the California Attorney General's office said. Only a parent could lift it. If other platforms agree to similar terms, the limit would drop to one hour. Meta would also block use from midnight to 6am for users under 18. A parent could lift that block too. If rivals adopt similar rules, the block would grow to cover 10pm to 7am. Meta would also stop notifications to users under 18 from 10pm to 7am and during the school day. The office described the school day as 8am to 3pm from August 15 to June 15.
Some changes would not wait on rivals. Meta would hide the number of likes or reactions from users under 18. It would ban cosmetic procedure filters. It would add a stronger way for teens to report harmful content. Meta would have to answer 90% of those reports within six hours, the office said. The deal also calls for age checks to find users under 18 and children under 13. It calls for better parental controls and an outside auditor to check that Meta follows the rules.
The money would be paid over 10 years. The Associated Press reported that Meta would pay $17 billion to settle claims from 47 states. The California Attorney General's office described the payment as up to $17 billion. It said the deal came from a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general. The office said California alone would receive $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion if the court approves the deal. The Associated Press reported that New Jersey expects at least $525 million, Massachusetts at least $366 million, and Virginia $353 million. These are single state shares. The dossier does not show how the full $17 billion is split among all the states. So these shares should not be read as adding up to the total. The Associated Press reported that the $17 billion is a small part of Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion.
The case settled during trial. The Associated Press reported that 29 states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, sued Meta in 2023. The lawsuit said Meta built features to addict children and hid the risks. It also said Meta collected data on children under 13 without their parents' consent. Nine attorneys general filed separate lawsuits in their own states. The trial began on August 18, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers oversaw it.
The two sides told very different stories. '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. That is the states' claim, not a proven fact. Meta pushed back. The Associated Press reported that Instagram head Adam Mosseri had begun testifying and defended the company's record and progress on child safety and privacy. Meta said in a blog post, 'Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta.' It said it was 'building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens.' It said it worked with state attorneys general to 'set a new industry standard,' and it urged rivals TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar steps. Bonta said Meta 'has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms, and will do it within months.' The Associated Press reported that CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to take the stand before the settlement cut the case short.