An $18bn settlement is a drop in the ocean for Meta – but the tide will still come for it | Chris Stokel-Walker

<p>This week’s settlement without liability was pragmatic, but it doesn’t change the inevitability of further lawsuits around the world </p><p>Not many people would count paying $18bn they didn’t expect to when they woke up that morning as a victory.

Yet for Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram, the agreement <a href="https://about. fb. com/news/2026/08/agreement-with-state-attorneys-general-supporting-teens/">with 52 US attorneys general</a> to settle claims that it designed its products to be addictive to children, and misled people about their safety, could be described as a win of sorts. </p><p>Meta denies wrongdoing, and the amount…