Agreement reached with US states in social media addiction case; Meta to pay $16.7bn
Meta will remove push notifications during school hours on weekdays and introduce ‘robust’ age verification measures and ‘age-appropriate’ content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material relating to eating disorders and self-harm
Meta has reached a settlement in the US lawsuit in which the social media giant is accused of causing mental health harm to minors through apps such as Facebook and Instagram. As part of the settlement, according to CNBC, Meta has agreed to pay $16.7 billion. The State of California could receive between 1.5 and 2.1 billion dollars if the court formally approves the settlement, which also sets out various requirements that Meta must impose on its apps, including daily usage limits and night-time blocks for teenagers using the company’s apps such as Facebook and Instagram, ‘enhanced age verification measures’ that would prevent minors from using the apps, and the creation of additional tools for parents and guardians.
Meta has agreed to pay around $17 billion and to introduce safety measures for minors on its Facebook and Instagram platforms to bring an end to the landmark lawsuit over social media addiction, in which numerous states have filed claims for compensation.
California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were among the 29 states that took the tech giant to court in 2023. The settlement now brings an end to the trial, which began last week in Oakland and was due to see CEO Mark Zuckerberg give evidence before a jury in a federal court in California.
No push notifications during school hours
Meta will remove push notifications during school hours on weekdays and introduce ‘robust’ age verification measures and ‘age-appropriate’ content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material relating to eating disorders and self-harm. There will be more effective and user-friendly parental controls, as well as limits on social comparison features such as ‘like’ counts. The federal lawsuit stemmed from an investigation conducted by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys-general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont. Since then, Meta has added a range of safety features to Instagram, including separate accounts for teenagers with enhanced messaging and privacy protections, as well as content restrictions. However, child safety experts, along with some former Meta employees, consider these measures to be insufficient.
