Meta just agreed to make sweeping changes for teens as part of a child safety settlement reached with attorneys general across the US. Under the agreement, Meta must apply new safeguards across Instagram and Facebook that will change how teens interact with the social media platforms, as well as restrict their use during certain times.
The settlement stems from a nationwide lawsuit alleging Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap failed to protect children and made their platforms “addictive” by design. A group of 51 US states and territories signed the agreement, including New York, New Jersey, California, Nevada, South Carolina, Washington, Illinois, and many more. Most of these protections are required to remain in place for at least 10 years.
Meta is calling on TikTok and YouTube to make similar changes, saying “these protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers.” It must pay $17.1 billion to states over 10 years, but says it will pay $5.3 billion of this sum only if TikTok and YouTube pay the same amount, as well as implement a daily time limit for teens, add restrictions at night, and roll out age assurance measures.