Just as a California court was preparing to begin proceedings, Meta has agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to resolve major litigation with more than twenty U.S. states. The states had accused the company of failing to adequately protect children, contributing to widespread social media addiction issues.

Court documents filed on Wednesday show that the parent company of both Facebook and Instagram will pay up to $16.68 billion to settle claims brought by 29 states. Meta had previously estimated that if it lost the case, the company could have faced losses amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars.

The social media giant is currently confronting a wave of similar lawsuits, with plaintiffs all alleging that major technology firms deliberately engineered addictive products that cause personal harm to users. As part of the settlement agreement, Meta has agreed to establish default daily usage time limits for teenage users, along with nighttime usage blocking mechanisms. The company will also strengthen its age verification systems to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content, while providing parents and guardians with more control tools.

The settlement does not represent an admission of wrongdoing by Meta. In pre-market trading on Wednesday, Meta shares rose 4%.