Meta yesterday agreed to pay up to $17.1B and adopt child-safety measures for Facebook and Instagram to resolve lawsuits brought by 52 attorneys general over child privacy laws and social media addiction (explore 101).

The settlement effectively ends a landmark trial that began in California last week, where states accused Meta of illegally collecting data from children under 13 and designing features to addict children (see previous write-up). Meta, which did not admit wrongdoing, will initially pay $12.1B and up to $17.1B if Snap, TikTok, and YouTube settle similar lawsuits. The funds will reportedly support youth online safety initiatives. Meta will also introduce a two-hour daily limit for users under 18 and disable notifications during school hours, among other changes.

While a fraction of Meta’s $201B in revenue last year, the settlement is the largest state consumer protection settlement since the 1990s, when tobacco companies agreed to pay over $206B. A Big Tobacco whistleblower says social media giants used the same addiction playbook—read his interview here.

(Summarised by 1440 Daily Digest)