Meta $17 billion settlement 51 states children social media harm

The bipartisan coalition accused Instagram and Facebook of designing compulsive features and harvesting data from children under 13.

All 51 US attorneys general, from every state plus several territories, signed the ten-year deal.
Screen time defaults to two hours daily for minors, one hour if rivals match it.
California's share, $1.5 to $2.1 billion, funds youth mental health Sacramento will allocate.

Why it matters: A settlement still awaiting court approval is a promise, not a verdict, and admits nothing.

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