Meta has reached an $18 billion settlement with 29 US states regarding a lawsuit focused on children's safety on its platforms. The agreement, made with a group of 52 attorneys general, requires Meta to implement extensive changes to how minors interact with Instagram and Facebook.
Under the settlement, Meta has proposed several design adjustments. These include a default two-hour daily screen-time limit for app use, 15-minute prompts to encourage intentional use, and blocking accounts identified as minors from Meta apps overnight between midnight and 6 a.m. Notifications for minors will also be muted during school hours, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and teens will not see 'like' counts on posts by default.
However, the effectiveness of these changes is dependent on age-verification technology, which some experts, like Dr. Alexis Ingber from Syracuse University, believe does not yet work particularly well. This technology, which can involve biometric scans, government ID checks, or behavioral analysis, has raised ongoing concerns about privacy risks for both children and adults.
While Meta has not admitted wrongdoing, the company is framing the settlement as a demonstration of its leadership in online child safety. Roughly 30% of Meta's settlement payment is contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting similar guidelines.