Meta Hit With Record $17.1 Billion Settlement as States Crack Down on Harmful Social Media Practices

On August 26, 2026, Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced a massive multistate settlement with Meta Platforms, Inc.—the biggest Big Tech settlement ever, second only to the tobacco cases of the 1990s. As part of the agreement, the District of Columbia will receive between $90.3 million and $129.3 million. The lawsuit argued that Meta knowingly designed Instagram and Facebook in ways that were addictive and psychologically harmful to kids, all while misleading the public about the risks. Now, Meta will be required to roll out major safety reforms across both platforms, marking a turning point in how social media companies treat young users.

Brian L. Schwalb, Attorney General of the U.S.

Schwalb didn’t hold back in describing Meta’s behavior, saying the company “intentionally exploited kids for profit and then lied about it,” even though its own internal research showed the platforms were harmful. He called the settlement a major public health win, especially for teens who have been dealing with the mental, emotional, and physical fallout of social media addiction. According to Schwalb, Meta is the first major platform to agree to such sweeping changes, and it likely won’t be the last.

Over the next decade, Meta will pay at least $12.1 billion to resolve lawsuits filed by 51 states and territories. That number could climb to $17.1 billion if other major social media companies agree to adopt similar safety features. If they do, Meta will also be required to strengthen those protections even further.

The reforms Meta must implement are extensive. Instagram and Facebook will introduce strict daily time limits for young users, including mandatory breaks designed to interrupt endless scrolling. Kids will face nighttime restrictions that block access to feeds and silence notifications during late hours, and school‑time protections will cut off push alerts during the school day. Meta will also have to improve age verification, introduce stronger safeguards against bullying and harmful content, limit features that fuel unhealthy social comparison, and give parents more intuitive control over their children’s accounts. An independent auditor will regularly evaluate how well these changes work, with oversight from the states involved in the settlement. These updates are more far‑reaching than anything previously ordered by a court.

The settlement follows years of investigation. Starting in 2021, attorneys general across the country began digging into how social media companies were targeting kids despite knowing the risks. The investigation found that Meta intentionally built features to keep children hooked, chasing ad revenue while hiding internal research that showed the platforms were damaging young users’ mental health. In 2023, 42 attorneys general—including Schwalb—filed suit. DC’s case moved forward in Superior Court, while other states pursued their claims in federal and state courts. Evidence uncovered by DC’s Office of the Attorney General showed that Meta’s lawyers tried to prevent damaging internal research from being disclosed, even advising employees to remove sections of documents that revealed how vulnerable teen users were.

DC’s lawsuit highlighted the dangerous and manipulative design choices baked into Meta’s platforms. While a federal court dismissed many of the claims in the multistate case, DC’s Superior Court allowed the District to continue challenging all of those features. The case was handled by Kevin Vermillion, Emily Holness, and former director Adam Teitelbaum from the Office of Consumer Protection.

Attorney General Schwalb was joined in the settlement by attorneys general from nearly every state and territory, reflecting a broad, bipartisan effort to hold Meta accountable and push the tech industry toward safer, more responsible practices.