Ken Paxton Secures Over $1B Meta Settlement to Protect Children Online

Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced a historic settlement with Meta that will provide Texas with more than $1 billion and require new protections for children using the company's platforms.

What does the Meta settlement require?

AG Paxton announced that Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will pay more than $1 billion to Texas as part of a settlement focused on protecting children online. The agreement also requires Meta to implement new safeguards for young users.

AG Ken Paxton: "This is a historic settlement and major win for the safety of Texas children. Not only will Meta pay over $1 billion to Texas, but the company will also implement significant new safety features."

How will Meta change its platforms?

The settlement requires Meta to strengthen age-assurance measures and establish a two-hour daily limit for teen users. Notifications will also be disabled by default during school hours unless parents change the setting.

Other measures include hiding likes and reactions by default to reduce social comparison, introducing a nighttime access mode that restricts certain features and notifications, limiting age-inappropriate content, and supporting parental supervision.

Where will the settlement money go?

Texas plans to use the more than $1 billion payment for remediation efforts, including youth mental health services, crisis resources, digital literacy programs, after-school programs, and grants for Texas schools.

The settlement marks the third agreement worth more than $1 billion that Paxton has secured from a major technology company. His previous settlements included $1.4 billion from Meta over Biometric data practices and $1.375 billion from Google over alleged violations of Texans' privacy rights.

Paxton is also scheduled to take TikTok to trial in fall 2026 as part of his continuing efforts to strengthen online protections for children.