Meta reaches $18 billion of settlements over children's social media addiction

Meta agreed to major changes to Facebook and Instagram and to pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims from most U.S. states that it designed the platforms to addict children and misled consumers about safety. The scale of the payout and required product changes raise regulatory and litigation overhang for Meta’s core social platforms. Overall, the settlement is likely to pressure sentiment and increase compliance risk even as it reduces immediate legal uncertainty.