Meta has agreed a proposed US child-safety settlement with 47 states and other jurisdictions that could cost it up to $17.1 billion and require changes to its apps. The company is using the deal to press TikTok, YouTube and Snap to adopt similar safeguards, arguing that restrictions are less effective if teenagers simply move to rival platforms.

Meta would pay at least $12 billion if the settlement is approved, while a further $5.3 billion depends on TikTok, YouTube and Snap introducing measures such as daily limits and default overnight notification restrictions. TikTok and YouTube would also need to reach state settlements of comparable value; otherwise Meta can reduce its own payment by about $5 billion. The agreement also supports Meta’s push for Apple and Google to provide age-verification signals, and could become a benchmark for future online child-safety negotiations.