In August 2026, Meta agreed to pay nearly $17 billion to most states in the U.S. over a 10-year period for causing harm to teenagers and children with its social media algorithms. However, the payments are contingent on TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat agreeing to similar restrictions of their platforms. See
Meta Platforms and
social media.
Mild Punishment
Considering Meta Platforms earned more than $60 billion in 2025, the settlement was modest at best and nothing like the nearly $250 billion settlements made by the tobacco industry in the late 1990s, which is more than $600 billion today.