Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and U.S. territories regarding claims that its platforms hurt children's mental health. ^[1] Meta uses artificial intelligence to analyze contextual clues such as posts about birthdays, school activities, friend networks, and login times to estimate user ages. ^[2] The Meta settlement requires the company to refine its age assurance approach within one year, with protections that the company says could become industry standards. ^[3] Under the settlement, Meta agreed to use third-party tools for age checking and undergo regular outside audits on the effectiveness of its technology. ^[4] The settlement requires Meta to implement age assurance measures, with the company having one year to refine its approach using its own tools and third-party solutions. ^[5] If a user is identified as under 13, Meta will check the ages of their friends as well. ^[6]