Meta has settled with US states over claims that Facebook and Instagram harm children, agreeing to pay $12.7 billion over 10 years, with an additional $5.3 billion contingent on rivals implementing similar changes. As reported by Live Mint, the total payout represents about three to four months of profit and about one month of revenue for Meta. The company denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, with a Meta spokesperson stating the company was "hopeful" Snap would make similar changes. The settlement creates significant implications for ongoing litigation against social media companies, with Meta's settlement could give an upper hand to states in legal fights against TikTok, according to Matthew Bergman, founder of the Seattle-based Social Media Victims Law Center. California Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed confidence that an industry-wide solution will materialize, stating 'We insist that it'll happen — it'll happen one way or another' during an interview on CNBC.
Meta Platforms Inc. is mounting a public pressure campaign to make its social media rivals add guardrails to their platforms, after signing a historic $18 billion settlement with US states requiring new safety features on Facebook and Instagram. According to Business Standard, Meta published an open letter addressed to Snap, TikTok and YouTube, asking them to join its proposed safety framework and planned to publish open letters in newspapers as part of the public campaign. The company stated it's seeking to set a 'new industry standard' and urged competitors to join, with TikTok, Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube and Snap Inc. staying publicly silent so far. Legal experts note there is 'definitely a very big pressure campaign' with the question being whether competitors see it within their interest, as reported by Business Standard. Rob Lalka, a professor of practice in management at Tulane University, told CNBC that "I'd expect TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat to make changes before they ever face that scene. These platforms depend entirely on being trusted, by parents, by users, by advertisers, and the settlement reflects a business decision about reputational risk."
Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to implement comprehensive safety measures as part of the landmark settlement, requiring the social media company to pay up to $18 billion to the states that filed suit. According to Live Mint, the changes include safety restrictions by default for teen accounts on both Facebook and Instagram, with newly created Instagram accounts for teenagers not seeing personalised feeds or likes on their posts by default unless changed by a supervising parent. The settlement requires Meta to introduce two-hour daily usage limits for teen accounts, with parents having the option to modify the default setting, along with night mode and school mode features restricting usage between midnight and 6 a.m., and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Additionally, like counts will not be displayed on teen accounts by default, and Meta will bar teenagers from using filters that simulate or promote cosmetic procedures. All these settings will be engaged by default for US users who sign up for teen accounts and can only be overturned with parental consent, as reported by Business Standard. James Speta, a Northwestern University law professor who specialises in telecommunications and internet policy, noted to Reuters that "These restrictions will change the experience on Instagram and Facebook, and they are designed to reduce engagement."
Meta will expand its parental supervision features significantly, bringing designated supervising parents greater visibility into how teenagers use the apps. As reported by Live Mint, parents will gain access to information including the time their children spend on platforms, their social connections, and notifications when teens message adults for the first time, along with a link to that adult's account. The new system will also send parents a daily notification when a teen messages an adult account for the first time. Additionally, parents will be notified if a teen searches for keywords related to suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders, according to the settlement. These changes represent a significant shift from Meta's previous approach where many safety tools were available but required active enabling by users. However, law professor Danielle Citron from the University of Virginia called the changes 'weak sauce' when considering the scope of the issue, noting that kids are adept at getting around age restrictions and the changes seem to lack real teeth by allowing parents to turn off default settings.
Meta will implement strict age verification measures to ensure teenagers are not bypassing restrictions on the apps. According to Live Mint, the company will use identification-based verification or facial recognition technology to verify user ages, with these systems undergoing annual testing by an independent third party to ensure effectiveness. The settlement requires Meta to strengthen age verification technology, hunt down fake accounts, and monitor for users circumventing safeguards, building on previous efforts where young people worldwide have repeatedly found ways to get past restrictions. The effectiveness of these measures depends on proper age-assurance implementation, with experts noting that 26% of Australian children aged 13-15 are still on TikTok just one month after the country's social media ban for users under 16. Meta has downplayed the potential business impact of the changes, emphasizing on a call with reporters Wednesday that it makes little money from teen users who don't have much to spend and drive less than 1% of its overall revenue.
Following the settlement announcement, Meta published an open letter addressed to Snap, TikTok and YouTube, asking them to join its proposed safety framework. As reported by Live Mint, Meta argues that restrictions on Facebook and Instagram alone could push teenagers toward competing platforms, stating 'For meaningful progress to happen, we urge our peers to join us'. The company argues that the protections would be more effective if competitors implement similar measures, with Meta wanting the same restrictions applied across major platforms. TikTok recently reached a $400 million settlement with the US Justice Department in a separate case involving children's privacy, while both companies face their own legal challenges related to children and teenagers. If TikTok and YouTube agree to the framework, they would also have to implement measures including stronger age verification and restrictions on nighttime use. However, California Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to comment on the potential for Meta's rivals to make changes, stating he hopes leaders at the companies will 'come to the table and commit to these changes going forward' and warned they're willing to take additional steps if they don't do it voluntarily. Bloomberg reports that $5.3 billion of Meta's settlement payment over the next decade is linked to conditions involving competing platforms, with the remaining portion released if YouTube and TikTok introduce specified safety measures and make matching contributions.
The settlement creates significant implications for ongoing litigation against social media companies. Meta's settlement could give an upper hand to states in legal fights against TikTok, according to Matthew Bergman, founder of the Seattle-based Social Media Victims Law Center. California Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed confidence that an industry-wide solution will materialize, stating 'We insist that it'll happen — it'll happen one way or another' during an interview on CNBC. All four companies are still facing more than 3,000 personal injury lawsuits filed by or on behalf of teens, who claim the platforms are addictive and contributed to their mental health struggles, along with more than 1,000 school district lawsuits based on allegations that the platforms are a public nuisance. The group of attorneys behind the personal injury cases applauded the changes Meta pledged to implement but stressed that the settlement does not compensate their clients for specific harms including depression, self-harm, eating disorders and death. Sonia Livingstone, a professor at the London School of Economics, noted that the changes could force 'a bit more of a diversification of the market' if competitors don't follow suit. Meta and YouTube lost in a social media addiction trial in Los Angeles earlier this year, where the plaintiff claimed her mental health was damaged by some of their addictive features, while Meta also lost a separate case brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, after a court found that it violated the state's child-safety laws and ordered it to pay over $900 million in penalties.
