# Meta agrees to up to $16.68 billion youth-harm settlement

_Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 9:43 AM EDT · Products · Latest · Tier 1 — Major_

Meta Platforms agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to resolve claims by 29 states that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children, misled consumers about safety and improperly collected children's personal data, court papers show.

The agreement was reached during a California federal trial and also calls for nationwide changes for teenage users, including daily usage limits and nighttime blocks. Meta denied wrongdoing. The settlement does not end thousands of other federal and state lawsuits alleging harms from social-media platform design.

## Sources

- [usatoday.com](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2026/08/26/meta-settlement-social-media-harms-children/91471659007/)

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Retrieved: 2026-08-26T15:35:59.991Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)