Meta to pay Texas over $1B to settle child online safety claims
$1B
Texas Attorney General
US (Texas) · 2026
Status: Final
What happened
Texas reached its own settlement with Meta over the safety of children on its platforms, separate from the 51 attorneys general deal announced the same day. The Attorney General's release says Meta will pay over $1 billion to the state and adopt new safeguards for young users.
The release states the payment only as "over $1 billion" and publishes no exact figure, so the directory records $1B as a floor. The money funds youth mental health services, crisis resources, digital literacy, after-school programmes and grants for Texas schools.
How it affected users
Meta must apply stricter age assurance and a default two-hour daily limit for teen users. Notifications are off by default during school hours unless a parent changes them, likes and reactions are hidden by default, and a nighttime mode restricts notifications and features for children.
Status timeline
Aug 26, 2026
Penalty announced.
Sources
- Texas Attorney General: Paxton secures over $1 billion from Meta in historic settlement that protects Texas kids onlineregulator
- KSAT: Meta to pay Texas $1 billion in child safety casenews
Last verified 2026-10-15. Spotted an error? Report a correction.
Cite this entry
Deepak Gupta, "Meta to pay Texas over $1B to settle child online safety claims," Tech Fines Directory, guptadeepak.com, 2026-08-26. https://guptadeepak.com/tech-fines/violation/meta-us-texas-child-safety-2026/