Meta Platforms on Wednesday (August 26) reached a settlement to resolve claims brought by states across the country that the company designed Instagram and Facebook to addict children, misled consumers about their safety, and improperly collected personal data of children who used its platforms, court papers show.

The deal was reached during a California federal court trial over claims brought by 29 states, averting one of the highest-profile tests yet of allegations that social media companies harmed young users. Just days before jury selection began on August 12, a federal appeals court declined to halt the trial.

The claims are part of a broader wave of litigation brought by states, local governments, school districts and individuals alleging Meta and other social media companies fueled a nationwide youth mental health crisis.

The federal trial covered claims from the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that Meta violated their state laws protecting consumers.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

ARCHIVE: Meta settles with US states over social media harms

VIDEO SHOWS: ARCHIVE FOOTAGE OF META HEADQUARTERS, PRODUCTS, CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG

SHOWS: MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 28, 2021) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF META SIGN OUTSIDE HEADQUARTERS

VARIOUS UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS (ARCHIVE - UNKNOWN DATE, VIDEO RELEASED OCTOBER 28, 2021) (FACEBOOK HANDOUT – Access all)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) META CEO, MARK ZUCKERBERG, SAYING:

"To reflect who we are and what we hope to build, I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta. Our mission remains the same, it's still about bringing people together."

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) META CEO, MARK ZUCKERBERG, SAYING:

"Over time, I hope that we're seen as a metaverse company. And I want to anchor our work in our identity on what we are building towards."

4. VARIOUS OF META CEO AND FACEBOOK FOUNDER, MARK ZUCKERBERG, IN THE METAVERSE, FENCING WITH AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST FENCER

MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - APRIL 29, 2025) (META – Must on-screen courtesy Meta / No resales)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) META CEO, MARK ZUCKERBERG, SAYING (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER VARIOUS SHOTS):

"The big one that we're focused on is building an AI and machine learning engineer to advance the Llama development itself. Right. Because I mean, our bet is sort of that in the next year probably, you know, I don't know, maybe half the development is going to be done by AI as opposed to people. And then that will just kind of increase from there."

6. ZUCKERBERG AND MICROSOFT CHAIRMAN & CEO, SATYA NADELLA, ON STAGE AT LLAMACON 2025

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

7. VARIOUS OF ZUCKERBERG ARRIVING AT COURT

MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - SEPTEMBER 27, 2023) (META - Must on-screen courtesy Meta / No resales)

8. META PRESENTATION VIDEO SHOWING HOW META AI WORKS

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) META CEO, MARK ZUCKERBERG, SAYING:

"We got Meta AI. Meta AI is your basic assistant, right, that you can talk to like a person. You can message Meta AI and any of the messaging apps WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram direct."

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) META CEO, MARK ZUCKERBERG, SAYING: (OVERLAID OVER SHOTS FROM META PRESENTATION VIDEO OF PEOPLE USING RAY-BAN SMART GLASSES)

"The next generation of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Now, these are designed, you can stay in the moment and stay connected without having to take your phone out. You can capture what's going on around you, can share with your friends and the world."

11. META PRESENTATION VIDEO SHOWING FORMULA 1 DRIVER, CHARLES LECLERC, AND OTHERS USING RAY-BAN SMART GLASSES

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (ARCHIVE – OCTOBER 4, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

12. PERSON NAVIGATING TO FACEBOOK ON WEB BROWSER

13. FACEBOOK HOME PAGE

14. PERSON SCROLLING THROUGH FACEBOOK

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (ARCHIVE - DECEMBER 8, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

15. PERSON OPENING FACEBOOK APP

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (ARCHIVE – OCTOBER 4, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

16. VARIOUS OF PERSON SCROLLING THROUGH FACEBOOK FEED

17. VARIOUS OF PERSON LIKING FACEBOOK’S PAGE

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - JUNE 29, 2020) (REUTERS – Access all)

18. VARIOUS OF FACEBOOK ON LAPTOP AND MOBILE PHONE