.jpg "Meta Tightens Instagram Access in $18B Child Safety Deal")
Meta will introduce stricter limits on how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook as part of an $18 billion settlement with 52 US states and territories. The agreement follows allegations that the company knowingly made its platforms addictive for young users.
The lawsuit accused Meta of harming children over several years while failing to fully disclose the potential risks associated with social media use. Meta agreed to changes to resolve the case without continuing the legal battle.
Under the settlement, teenagers in most US states will be blocked from accessing Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6am. Notifications will also be turned off during school hours, from 8am to 3pm.
Teenagers will face a two-hour daily usage limit and receive repeated reminders about excessive screen time. Meta will also introduce stronger age-verification measures to prevent younger users from accessing the platforms.
The developments could also affect Meta's operations in the UK. The British Government said it is closely monitoring the situation as it considers plans to restrict social media access for children under 16.
Teenagers won't see the number of likes on their posts or other people's posts, and the makeup filters will be prohibited from showing teenagers “extreme makeup”.
One of the prosecutors who had been targeting Meta, Attorney General William Tong of Connecticut, said: “Meta's abusive and addictive tools have created a youth mental health crisis, and that is over.”
Attorneys for the states argued that Meta's business model was to “hook the users” and then “hide the truth” about the harm that its apps inflicted.
Meta has settled with the states, paying a total of $18bn, which had been seeking $200bn in damages, but has denied any wrongdoing. A contribution of $16.7bn for payments to the states, a $1bn fine over the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, and another $1bn payment to Texas
Of that, only $5.3bn will be paid if Meta's primary competitors YouTube and TikTok have agreed to implement similar safety measures and to pay their own $5.3bn fines. The unusual fee deal is to make sure that the company's competition is not easier for those who would like to use it. The settlement will hold true for 10 years with Meta. It spans 47 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, North Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.
The “framework” we’ve negotiated will give parents the ability to easily control how their children interact with our platforms. The settlement will spare Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, from testifying. He was to become a witness in the case in the next few days.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, had defended the company’s actions on Tuesday, claiming that the company had built features that would limit usage of the app, but that teenagers “didn’t want” to use it.
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The settlement came with a corresponding 4.5pc hike in shares of Meta, which failed to halt the trial before it began this month, before further trading up roughly 1.4pc. If the case is lost, the maximum amount it could have paid would have been $1.4 trillion, according to Meta's own estimates. This would have been close to the company’s entire value. The UK Government said that it would be watching developments.
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“While this is a matter for Meta and the US courts, we are following developments closely,” a spokesman said.
“The Online Safety Act, which applies in the UK, requires platforms to protect users under 18 from harmful content. We are already taking further steps to promote British children’s wellbeing and protect them from online harms by introducing a social media ban for fewer than 16s next year.
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“We are also taking action on harmful features and addictive functionalities like limiting excess screen time and infinite scroll.”
Meta said the changes would only apply in the US but that it would monitor how they work and remain in conversations with other governments.
Chris Sherwood, the chief executive of the NSPCC said: “Now governments around the world, including the UK, need to play their part in creating a safer online world for children by making sure they legislate so the law and regulation can hold big tech accountable.”