What happened to people's data
on the apps they trusted.

States said Meta built features to hook kids, knew about the harm, and misled the public about how safe its apps were. Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to settle.

New York Attorney General, with other states · August 2026Approved by a federal courtView source ↗

The US government sued TikTok, saying it broke the law that protects kids' privacy online. TikTok agreed to pay $400 million to settle.

US Department of Justice · August 2026SettledView source ↗

The FTC said YouTube collected kids' data and used it to target ads at them, earning millions. Google and YouTube paid a record $170 million to settle.

Federal Trade Commission, US · September 2019SettledView source ↗

Instagram was fined by Ireland's data regulator over children's data. Teens' email addresses and phone numbers were made public through business accounts, and teens' personal accounts were public by default.

Data Protection Commission, Ireland · September 2022Under appealView source ↗

TikTok was fined by Ireland's data regulator over children's data. Among other findings, kids' accounts were set to public by default.

Data Protection Commission, Ireland · September 2023Under appealView source ↗

TikTok was fined £12.7 million after the UK's data regulator found it used the personal data of up to 1.75 million UK children under 13 in 2020, without following the rules that protect kids that young.

Information Commissioner's Office, UK · 2023Final since 2026View source ↗

Snapchat told people their snaps would “disappear forever.” The FTC said that wasn't true: people could save them with other apps.

Federal Trade Commission, US · May 2014SettledView source ↗

The FTC said Twitter took the phone numbers and emails people gave to protect their accounts and used them to sell targeted ads. Twitter paid $150 million.

Federal Trade Commission, US · May 2022SettledView source ↗

Facebook agreed to pay the largest privacy penalty ever, after the FTC said it deceived people about how much control they had over their personal information.

Federal Trade Commission, US · July 2019View source ↗

Texas said Meta captured people's facial data without the consent the law requires. Meta agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle.

Texas Attorney General · July 2024SettledView source ↗

Facebook said the information of up to 87 million people may have been improperly shared with the firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook (now Meta) · April 2018View source ↗

Meta was fined after a collection of Facebook users' personal data was made available on the internet.

Data Protection Commission, Ireland · November 2022View source ↗

TikTok was fined for letting staff in China access European users' data without showing it was protected to EU standards.

Data Protection Commission, Ireland · May 2025Under appealView source ↗

Instagram says your Feed mixes in posts from accounts you don't follow, and ranks everything by how likely you are to interact with it.

Instagram · May 2023View source ↗

Meta says it uses what you do, including activity on other apps and websites that businesses share with it, to decide which ads to show you.

Meta Privacy Policy · as of October 2026View source ↗