Meta disclosed that it spent $9.89 billion to cover its portion of a child‑safety settlement with U.S. state attorneys general. The figure appears in the company’s third‑quarter earnings release on Wednesday, which notes that operating income would have reached $22.89 billion had the settlement not been required.
The settlement, announced in August, obligates Meta to pay $17.1 billion to resolve a nationwide lawsuit alleging that its social‑media platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive to children. The agreement also includes a clause that reduces Meta’s payment to $5.3 billion if rival platforms YouTube and TikTok adopt stricter child‑protection settings, a condition Meta has accepted as part of the deal.