Meta to pay 16.7 billion to settle US teen social media lawsuit, tighten age rules

Meta agreed on Wednesday to pay $16.7 billion to settle a lawsuit with 29 U.S. states, introducing new restrictions on teen use of Instagram and Facebook. The deal, finalized in a federal court in Oakland, California, requires Meta to enforce nighttime and school-hour curfews, limit daily usage to two hours for users aged 14 to 17, and ban access for those under 14. Additional measures include disabling push notifications during school hours and removing beauty filters .

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig called the settlement a signal for stronger protections in Europe, urging the EU to enforce and expand existing rules under the Digital Services Act. Hubig told the *Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger* that platforms must shield minors from manipulative designs like endless scrolling and prioritize privacy. She proposed a national transitional rule in Germany, including a legal minimum age for social media, while opposing blanket bans in favor of a tiered protection model tailored to different age groups .

The settlement mandates Meta to verify the ages of all users in participating states within one year, with unverified accounts defaulting to teen restrictions. However, enforcement remains uncertain, as the agreement does not specify how to confirm ages or parental consent. Methods under consideration include ID checks, selfies, or activity analysis, but critics warn these could infringe on privacy. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers noted the lack of a reliable system to prevent older siblings from posing as guardians .

In Italy, a class action against Meta and TikTok seeks structural algorithm changes rather than financial penalties. Giuseppe Lavenia, a psychotherapist and president of the National Association for Technological Addictions, argued that paying fines does not address the public health crisis, citing widespread sleep disruption and self-esteem tied to social media engagement. Matteo Flora, a professor at the European School of Economics, compared Meta’s $12.7 billion penalty—spread over a decade—to “a coffee a day” for someone earning €2,000 monthly, emphasizing its minimal financial impact relative to Meta’s 2025 profits of $60 billion .

A 2025 study by German health insurer DAK found that 25% of surveyed adolescents exhibited problematic social media use, with symptoms comparable to addiction, including sleep disorders and chronic fatigue. In March, a U.S. court ruled in favor of a young woman who sued YouTube and Instagram, alleging that features like autoplay and endless scrolling contributed to her addiction .