The trial that ended this week with Meta agreeing to pay states $17 billion was heard about 20 miles from here, in federal court in Oakland before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
California was one of eight states whose attorneys general led the investigation behind it, alongside Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont. Twenty-nine states sued in 2023, and the settlement now covers claims from 47.
Meta has characterised the total as $18 billion, a figure reported to include a large separate award for Texas.
The lawsuit accused Meta of deliberately building features that addict children to its platforms while concealing what it knew about the harm, and of routinely collecting data on children under 13 without parental consent in violation of federal law.
Arturo Bejar, a former Meta engineering director, testified that the company prioritised profits over safety.
The settlement is to be paid out annually over 10 years. Virginia's share was reported at $353 million, one of the few state figures made public so far.
What changes on the apps
The money will matter less to most families than the settlement's operating terms, which Meta has agreed to apply to Facebook and Instagram:
