Meta Commits to Significant Changes for Teen Safety Following Child Safety Settlement

In a groundbreaking move, Meta has agreed to implement sweeping changes aimed at enhancing the safety of teenagers as part of a child safety settlement with attorneys general from various states in the US. The agreement mandates the implementation of new safeguards on Instagram and Facebook, fundamentally altering the way teens engage with these social media platforms and imposing restrictions on their usage during specific times.

The settlement arises from a nationwide lawsuit that accused Meta, along with Google, TikTok, and Snap, of failing to adequately protect children and intentionally designing their platforms to be “addictive”. A coalition of 51 US states and territories, including New York, New Jersey, California, Nevada, South Carolina, Washington, Illinois, and others, has signed onto the agreement. The majority of these protective measures are required to remain in effect for a minimum of 10 years.

Meta is urging TikTok and YouTube to follow suit and implement similar changes, emphasizing that “these safeguards will only be truly impactful if we collaborate with our counterparts.” As part of the settlement, Meta will pay $17.1 billion to states over the course of a decade, with a stipulation that $5.3 billion of this amount will only be disbursed if TikTok and YouTube also contribute the same sum. Additionally, the platforms must enforce a daily time limit for teens, impose restrictions during nighttime hours, and introduce age verification measures.