Meta to Shell Out $18 Billion in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case

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Meta Platforms, the company who the massively popular Facebook and Instagram platforms, has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle claims brought by nearly every state in the union regarding the dangerous, addictive nature of social media, particularly when it comes to teens. 

According to the lawsuit, the states accused Meta of deliberately designing its social media platforms to be addictive and harmful to children and teenagers.

“The agreement includes a payment of approximately $18 billion, which can be used to fund youth online safety initiatives, among other state priorities,” Meta said in a statement.

Based on the court filing, the company “denies the allegations against it and that it has any liability to the Plaintiffs."

The lawsuit was filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who said in a statement that the plaintiffs had “secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families.”

“Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months,” Bonta said.

Meta also plans to issue further restrictions to protect minors, including daily time limits for children, nighttime restrictions, fewer notifications during school hours, stronger age-verification and parental controls, and more safeguards on content related to bullying, eating disorders, suicide and self-harm, CBN News reported.

Speaking with CBN News, South Carolina Republican state Rep. Brandon Guffey said,

“While it's just a settlement, not a court case, it is an admission.”

He also noted the harmful effects of social media as his 17-year-old son Gavin took his own life in 2022 after being sexually extorted on Instagram.

"Gavin was reached out to by someone pretending to be a girl online," Guffey explained. "As soon as they began to exchange images with one another, the person then used those images to start blackmailing him, demanding money and threatening that they're gonna let these go viral."   

Meanwhile, Haley McNamara of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation Meta will now be held accountable for protecting children in light of the settlement.

"We think it's a really important step forward for online safety to no longer be viewed as optional," McNamara told CBN News.

Following the landmark settlement, Meta's chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, urged its social media competitors to follow suit, and implement moves to better protect teens and children on their platforms, according to NBC 4.

“Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution, he said. "We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework, right away,”

 Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/kitzcorner

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.