Well, that was quick. Meta has agreed to settle a major lawsuit less than a quarter of the way through an expected 19-day federal trial over allegations that it failed to protect young users. Under the proposed agreement, Meta could pay up to $16.7 billion to 51 U.S. states and territories and make significant changes to how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook.
The settlement was announced Wednesday by attorneys general representing some of the 29 states that sued Meta. The settlement agreement was released shortly before Instagram chief Adam Mosseri was scheduled to return to the witness stand. In a separate announcement outlining the agreement, Meta said it hopes YouTube and TikTok will adopt similar teen-safety measures.
The settlement is a surprising development. While other social media companies, including YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok, have resolved similar lawsuits outside of court, Meta has repeatedly chosen to proceed to trial. Earlier this year, the company lost state court cases in California and New Mexico and was ordered to pay nearly $1 billion. Meta’s first federal trial involving alleged harm to minors began last week, with potential damages estimated at $1 trillion or more.
“Ensuring a safe and productive experience for teens on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said in its announcement. “We want parents and teens to get this right, which is why we partnered with state attorneys general to set new industry standards.”
“Today, we secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for children and make a huge difference for them and their families,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
Subject to judicial approval, the product changes will apply to Instagram and Facebook and will include new screen-time limits and parental controls. Teenagers will receive a default two-hour daily limit across both platforms, and parental approval will be required to disable the restriction. The limit will not apply to “long-form content” or messaging, which the agreement defines as audio or video lasting at least 22 minutes. Teens will therefore be able to continue direct messaging without the same time restriction.
Instagram and Facebook will also be blocked by default for teens between midnight and 6 a.m. From August 15 through June 15, notifications will be muted between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to reduce distractions during school hours. Teens will receive reminders every 15 minutes of continuous use, along with additional alerts after 60 and 90 minutes.
Parents will gain more control over how their teenagers use Instagram and Facebook. They will be able to choose a chronological feed instead of an algorithmically ranked feed and disable autoplay by default. Meta will also hide post like and reaction counts from teen users by default. Bonta described these measures as restrictions designed to limit potentially harmful experiences, meaning changes to the default settings may require parental approval. Meta also plans to disable cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters for teenagers.
The $16.7 billion settlement includes an important condition. Approximately $12.7 billion is guaranteed and will be paid in annual installments over 10 years. The remaining amount depends on other major social media companies—defined in the agreement as Snap, TikTok, and YouTube—adopting comparable protections for young users. Meta said those measures could include a one-hour daily screen-time limit, a similar overnight restriction, and stronger age-verification requirements. If implemented, Meta’s own daily limit would also fall from two hours to one hour. TikTok and YouTube would additionally be required to make combined payments equal to Meta’s contribution.
Source: www.wired.com