Meta Is Paying Up to $17.1 Billion and Capping Teen Accounts at Two Hours a Day

Meta settled with state attorneys general on August 26, one week into trial. The price is up to $17.1 billion, and the part that will show up in households is a set of changes to how every Facebook and Instagram account belonging to someone under 18 works.

What Changes on the Phone

Under 18 accounts get a default two hour daily time limit, which a parent can override. A night mode blocks access from midnight to 6 a.m. A school mode mutes notifications from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding direct messages and security alerts.

The platforms will prompt users after every 15 minutes of continuous use, hide like counts by default on all posts, disable extreme makeup filters, and offer both a non-algorithmic feed and an autoplay off option. Direct messaging is excluded from night mode, the time limit and school mode.

How the Money Is Structured

The settlement covers 47 states plus the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Three states are outside it. New Mexico won a separate $375 million jury verdict earlier in 2026, Texas negotiated its own $1 billion settlement, and Florida is not participating.

Meta pays $12.7 billion, which is 70 percent, regardless. The remaining $5.3 billion is contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting comparable measures, specifically one hour daily time limits, night mode and age assurance. Payments are distributed annually over a decade based on state population.

What the Money Does Not Do

None of it reaches a household. The funds go to participating states and territories. Meta has not admitted wrongdoing.

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said Meta intentionally exploited kids for profit and then lied about it. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, a Republican, framed it differently, saying kids deserve a childhood that isn’t measured in likes and followers. Meta Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney said that because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, the company needs an industry-wide solution.

The Ten Year Clock

The changes have to stay in place for at least a decade, which is what separates this from a fine. A payment ends. A product requirement that runs ten years does not.

For a grandparent who has argued about screen time and lost, the practical question is when the phone actually changes. The settlement requires it, the term is ten years, and the specific implementation dates have not been published.

References: Meta to pay 47 states up to $17.1B in landmark child safety settlement