MENLO PARK, California: Meta Platforms has agreed to pay up to US$18 billion and impose new restrictions on teenagers' use of Facebook and Instagram under settlements resolving claims by most U.S. states that it designed the platforms to addict children and misled consumers about their safety.

The settlements announced August 26 end a federal trial that had been one of the highest-profile tests of allegations that social media companies harm children.

Under the agreements, Meta will for the next decade restrict teenagers' use of Facebook and Instagram to two hours a day and block all usage from midnight to 6 a.m. without parental consent. The limits could be tightened if other social media companies adopt similar terms.

Meta will also enhance measures to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content.

"The focus of this case was to protect our kids," Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. "The relief we are getting in this settlement is very meaningful and well beyond what any court has ordered or is likely to order."

Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. The agreements do not require it to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising.

"Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta," the company said in a blog post. "We want to get this right for parents and teens."

The settlements include more than $17.6 billion in payments to 48 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Meta will also pay $459 million to resolve states' privacy claims related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the British consulting firm collected personal data of millions of Facebook users.

California would receive the largest payout at $2.2 billion, while New York and Texas would each receive more than $1 billion. Some of the payout is contingent on whether Alphabet's YouTube and ByteDance's TikTok impose similar protections for children.

The settlement requires approval from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who oversaw the trial that began August 18. Instagram head Adam Mosseri began testifying, while Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was expected to testify.

Meta shares rose 1.4 percent in morning trading.

Social media companies face litigation from states, local governments, school districts and individuals accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis. Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap's Snapchat still face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts claiming they knowingly tried to addict children to their platforms.

The Meta trial included claims by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that the company violated state consumer protection laws. It also included claims by 29 states that Meta violated the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by knowingly collecting children's personal data without parental consent and using it to train generative AI.

Gonzalez Rogers continues to oversee thousands of lawsuits accusing social media companies of harming children. Meta still faces thousands of lawsuits from individuals, school districts, and municipalities, with the next trials scheduled for October in Los Angeles.

New Mexico and Florida were not part of the settlements on August 26.

"The payouts to the states are peanuts compared to the profound harms Meta's profit-driven addictive features have inflicted on our children," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement. "We'll see them at trial."