Meta $18 Billion Settlement with 29 U.S. States

What happened

Meta was sued by 29 U.S. states for violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regarding the collection and use of data belonging to children under 13, and for failing to adequately protect underage users from harmful content and practices on Facebook and Instagram. Meta admits no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Do you qualify?

This is a government enforcement settlement between 29 U.S. states and Meta. There is no direct consumer claim process. The settlement requires Meta to implement safety changes to Facebook and Instagram, including restrictions on teenage users, but does not compensate individual consumers.

What you can claim

Read from the official settlement notice.

• Two-hour daily usage limit

  Automatically activated on accounts of users known to be teenagers, applying across Facebook and Instagram combined. Time spent on direct messages does not count toward this limit.

• Hidden likes and engagement metrics

  Likes on posts and other content will be completely hidden from teenage users of both Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Who is in the class

Class members are users of Facebook and Instagram who are minors (underage users/teenagers/children under the age of 13)

Quoted from the settlement notice.

How to file

This settlement does not create a consumer claim process. The $18 billion will be paid by Meta over a decade to the 29 U.S. states that filed the lawsuit. Individual consumers cannot file claims. Instead, Meta is required to implement new features such as a two-hour daily usage limit for teenagers, disabled notifications during school hours and nighttime, and hidden like counts on teen accounts within six months.