Meta to pay $17 billion, overhaul Facebook and Instagram in teen addiction settlement
Latimes · 2026-08-26
Meta has settled a lawsuit brought by California and 41 other states, agreeing to pay $17 billion and implement significant changes to Facebook and Instagram aimed at protecting young users. As part of the agreement, safety features, which former Meta data scientist George Volichenko testified were deliberately kept "opt-in" to maximize user engagement despite low adoption, will now default on. The settlement, confirmed in an article dated August 26, 2026, also follows a New Mexico court order from August that mandated Meta pay $942 million and make its platform safer by preventing minors from romantic or sexualized interactions with AI chatbots. The total payment, while substantial, is a fraction of Meta's annual revenue, which was roughly $200 billion in 2025. Witnesses, including Volichenko, testified that internal documents were routinely edited to remove sensitive information before reaching Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to prevent him from being questioned about them. California Atty. Gen. Bonta called the settlement a "transformative" and "watershed moment" for protecting children.