Meta Platforms has reached a $16.7 billion settlement to resolve a landmark claim brought by several states that the company designed Instagram and Facebook to addict children, improperly collected children's personal data, and misled consumers about their safety.
The deal was in a Wednesday court filing in California after a lawsuit was brought by 29 states - with attorneys for Colorado, California, New Jersey and Kentucky - leading the group. The states argued that features like infinite scroll were purposely engineered to keep young users hooked, that Meta misled the public about the safety of its platforms for adolescents, and that the company improperly collected and monetized children's personal data in violation of federal law.
As part of the settlement, Meta must implement daily usage limits and 'nighttime blocks' for teenagers who use the company's apps like Facebook and Instagram, as well as "enhanced age assurance measures" that would prevent children from using them, and also providing parents with additional tools, CNBC reports.
Additionally, Meta is tying another $5.3 billion of the settlement to Google and TikTok adopting similar teen safety measures - cutting default teen time limits from 2 hours to 1 hour per day.
The attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming joined the settlement.
Prior to the settlement, Meta warned that maximum statutory penalties could theoretically reach $1.4 trillion, while the attorneys general have indicated they may seek around $200 billion. That said, the company still faces thousands of lawsuits filed by school districts and individual plaintiffs alleging harms from social media.
While shares spiked as much as 5% premarket on the news, the move was quickly reversed at market open.
h ttps://x.com/TrwendSpider/status/2092360371138932969?s=202
Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 09:19Summary:
CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on a US Air Force C-17 transport jet on Tuesday morning for meetings with Russian intelligence officials, according to CBS News.
The outlet cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who confirmed Wednesday that Ratcliffe met with senior Russian intelligence officials but not President Vladimir Putin.
Putin was later briefed on the talks, according to Peskov, who cautioned that it was too early to determine whether the meeting could help pull bilateral US-Russian relations out of their "deep crisis."
The visit marks Ratcliffe's first known trip to Russia since becoming CIA director, though he has maintained contact with Russian intelligence counterparts, CBS noted.
CBS continued:
Ahead of his trip, the US told Ukrainian officials that a senior delegation would be traveling to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes until the delegation's departure from Russia, according to a senior Ukrainian official.
The secretive trip comes as US-mediated peace talks remain stalled and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have stoked a refined-products crisis that is spreading worldwide in the form of diesel shortages. We must note the energy crisis has been compounded by tanker transit disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
CIA Director Ratcliffe On USAF Cargo Jet Flight To MoscowCIA Director John Ratcliffe was onboard the U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster lll that landed early Tuesday at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, in order to attend several high-level meetings with Russian officials, according to CBS News. pic.twitter.com/m4qg9apy3V
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 25, 2026CBS News Senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs has provided some clarity on the mysterious US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft that flew to Moscow earlier today.
Jacobs said, "Scoop: CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Russia aboard a C-17 for meetings in Moscow today, sources told @Olivia_Gazis @JimLaPorta and me. @CBSNews."
Scoop: CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Russia aboard a C-17 for meetings in Moscow today, sources told @Olivia_Gazis @JimLaPorta and me. @CBSNews
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) August 25, 2026 US Air Force C-17 Makes Mysterious Visit To MoscowA US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft landed at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport on Tuesday, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
The C-17 arrived from Riga, Latvia, where it landed on Sunday, according to Flightradar24 data. Flight data show that the military transport plane was recently at Camp Springs, Maryland, home to Joint Base Andrews, which supports presidential and senior US government travel.
"An unusual visitor to Moscow this morning. A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III flew from Riga to Moscow Vnukovo Airport," Flightradar24 wrote on X early Tuesday.
An unusual visitor to Moscow this morning. 👀
A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III flew from Riga to Moscow Vnukovo Airporthttps://t.co/D7vylYesDQ pic.twitter.com/jXbOSj0LXM
Flightradar24 shows the C-17's latest activity over the past seven days:
Russian business news website RBC confirmed that a US military transport aircraft had landed at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport.
Russian state-owned news agency TASS also reported that an "American Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft has reportedly landed in Moscow."
More from TASS:
A source within EU air traffic control authorities told TASS that the plane, having originally flown from Andrews Air Force Base to Latvia, had indeed continued its journey toward the Russian border. The source confirmed that the aircraft proceeded toward Russia's border after its stop in Riga. Additionally, the source noted that prior to this, the plane had also visited Charleston Airport.
There has been no official confirmation from the US about the C-17's landing in Moscow. The flight could indicate support for a senior US delegation, the transportation of diplomatic cargo or a prisoner transfer. Keep in mind that Joint Base Andrews is a major hub for US government and military missions.
Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 09:01While far less relevant than the rest of today's data barrage, including the core PCE report and Durable Goods data which showed a mixed real-time picture of the economy as core prices rose more than expected while core CapEx missed expectations, the BEA also reported its second revision of Q2 GDP data - yes, for the quarter ended June 30 or almost two months ago - and which came in at 1.5%, right on top of expectations, and unchanged from the previous estimate.
According to the BEA, contributors to the increase in real GDP in the second quarter were increases in consumer spending, exports, and investment that were partly offset by a decrease in government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
Compared to the first quarter, the deceleration in real GDP in the second quarter reflected a downturn in government spending and decelerations in investment and exports that were partly offset by an acceleration in consumer spending. Imports increased more in the second quarter than in the first quarter.
As shown in the chart below, virtually all growth in Q2 GDP came from personal consumption, which added 2.31% to the bottom line 1.5%, GDP print, or more than all of it. On an annualized basis, personal consumption rose 3.4% q/q, beating the 3.2% median estimate and also advance reading.
Another 1.2% came from Fixed Investment, all of which was the result of non-residential construction (data centers and intellectual property products). On the other end, Net Exports subtracted a total of 1.14% from the bottom line GDP print while the change in private inventories detracted another 0.72%. Finally government erased another 0.16% from the GDP print.
There was some better news when it comes to real gross domestic income (GDI) which increased 2.2% in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 1.2% in the first quarter. The average of real GDP and real GDI increased 1.8%, compared with an increase of 1.7%.
And while it is especially irrelevant in light of today's much more up-to-date core PCE data, the price index for gross domestic purchases increased 5.8% in the second quarter, revised up 0.1% point from the previous estimate. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 5.3% revised up 0.2%, and the PCE price index excluding food and energy increased 3.6%, also revised up 0.2% point. However, as noted previously, this is for a quarter that ended 2 months ago so ignore all of the above.
Finally, profits from current production (corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments) increased $400.9 billion in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $74.4 billion in the first quarter
Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 08:45Following the CPI and PPI internals, this morning's PCE data should not offer too many surprises with expectations for the headline price Index to rise just 0.1% MoM in July (after deflating for the first time since COVID in June).
The (old) Fed's favorite inflation indicator - Core PCE (a measure of price changes in consumer goods and services that excludes volatile food and energy costs) - printed in line with expectations (+0.2% MoM and +3.3% YoY), a very slight uptick...
Services costs continue to dominate the inflationary picture...
The headline PCE rose 0.2% MoM (hotter than the +0.1% MoM expected) with a small uptick for the YoY at +3.7%...
Non-durable goods prices continued to deflate in July...
The much-watched SuperCore PCE (Services ex-shelter) saw price inflation slow on a YoY basis...
The decline in crude prices dragged the Energy component of PCE lower...
Ironically, while semiconductor prices are major contributors to inflation, it turns out that a rising (or now sideways/falling) stock market is also driving up aggregate prices as portfolio management service costs soar...
This is important because it accounted for more than half of all Core PCE Services inflation...
Under the hood, it was all Portfolio Management & Advice Services...
Higher prices were met with higher spending (+0.2% MoM notional) and higher income growth (+0.4% MoM) - both stronger than expected...
Income and spending annual growth is slowing...
On the income side, both public and private worker wage growth slowed:
Govt worker wages drop to just 1.4% YoY, lowest since March 2021
Private worker wages drop to 3.8% from 4.6%, lowest since March 2026
Real personal spending growth dipped notably...
...which might help explain why the savings rate inflected higher from four year lows...
"The economy remains strong and inflation isn’t dropping," says TradeStation’s David Russell, Global Head of Market Strategy.
"Strong consumption, spending and durable goods orders suggest the committee has room to tighten without causing a recession. These numbers support hawkish policymakers at the Fed’s committee and increase pressure on Kevin Warsh later this week. It’s getting harder for him to dodge the issue of hiking rates."
Tyler Durden Wed, 08/26/2026 - 08:43