Meta agrees to pay $18 billion to settle social media addiction lawsuit

(NBC, KYMA) - Meta has agreed to pay $18 billion to settle a landmark social media addiction lawsuit brought by several states, including Arizona and California.

The settlement comes a day after testimony by Instagram head Adam Mosseri.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had also been expected to take the stand after numerous states sued the social media giant, arguing that their platforms were designed to be addictive and that the company violated federal privacy and consumer protection laws.

As part of the deal, Meta will commit to establish daily limits and blocks on nighttime use for teen users, as well as "enhanced age assurance measures to prevent children from accessing the platform, or age restricted content available on the platform."

The settlement also requires the company to "create additional tools to help parents and guardians to protect their children online."

The announced settlement will require the approval of a judge.

While Meta will pay a maximum of roughly $17 billion to $18 billion total, Arizona is set to receive nearly $225 million while California will receive between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion.

In response to the settlement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released a statement, saying in part, "If the settlement is approved by the court, these changes include daily time limits, stopping notifications during school hours, blocks on nighttime use, banning dangerous filters, enhanced detection and removal of users under 13, and much more."

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is holding a press conference to also share her reaction to the settlement.

To watch the livestream of the press conference, see attached video.