Meta says it would’ve made over $22 billion if it didn’t have to pay a child safety settlement

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Meta had to shell out $9.89 billion to pay for a chunk of the child safety settlement it reached with US attorneys general. That’s according to the company’s third-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday, which says Meta’s income from operations would have been $22.89 billion without the settlement.

In August, Meta agreed to pay $17.1 billion to settle a massive nationwide lawsuit that claimed the company harmed children by making its social media platforms “addictive” by design. It will also only pay $5.3 billion of this amount if YouTube and TikTok implement stricter settings and safeguards for kids, which Meta also agreed to as part of the settlement.

Meta’s total costs and expenses amounted to $51.61 billion, including the amount it agreed to pay as part of the settlement. The company may have even bigger litigation costs in its future, as a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over the Cambridge Analytica scandal on Wednesday.

Even with the fees associated with its legal battles, Meta reported earning $64.60 billion in revenue, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg attributes to its investments in AI. “We hit major milestones this quarter toward delivering personal superintelligence for everyone,” Zuckerberg says in the press release. “Our investments are paying off, the core business is strong, and we’re seeing velocity across the board.”

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