Major changes are coming to Facebook and Instagram after Meta settled a high-profile trial in the United States.
The social media giant agreed to pay an $17 billion settlement to 29 US states which had brought a lawsuit accusing it of deliberately designing addictive products which led to mental health issues among young people – including anxiety, depression and suicide. It will also pay $1bn to Texas, which was not part of the lawsuit.
Led by California, the states also claimed that Meta regularly collected data on children under the age of 13 without parental permission, a violation of federal and state laws.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been due to appear as a witness in the jury trial – which began last week – while Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri was questioned.
The company denies wrongdoing but agreed to pay $17bn, to be divided among the 29 states, over the next 10 years.
Crucially, it also agreed to make significant changes to improve safeguarding on its Instagram and Facebook apps in ‘participating US states’. While the changes will not automatically be coming to the UK, the Government here said it is “following developments closely”.
The changes
Existing safety limitations will now become the default setting for accounts created by teenagers, rather than an opt-in. These settings cannot be changed without the permission of a supervising parent account linked to the teen account.
Teenager accounts will face a two-hour daily time limit -although parents can change these settings – with Meta committing to a one-hour limit if other social media platforms agree to it.
The Facebook and Insta apps – and notifications – will be blocked for use between midnight and 6am, and 8am-3pm on school days.
Social comparison features will also be limited, with ‘like’ counts hidden by default. Filters such as those which show how a teen would look after cosmetic surgery will also be blocked.
Meta must also implement verification systems such as facial recognition to ensure teens aren’t using regular Instagram accounts.
Reaction
“Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, said in a statement. “Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms – and will do it within months.”
Phil Weiser, the attorney general of Colorado, added: “The relief we are getting in this settlement is very meaningful and well beyond what any court has ordered or is likely to order. The focus of this case was to protect our kids.”
Meta chief legal officer CJ Mahoney called on other social media companies to change their platform designs.
“Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution. We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, to implement this new framework, right away,” he stated.
“As a parent, I’m proud of both the work Meta has done to protect kids historically, and of this new groundbreaking agreement. But its success depends on all other social media platforms following Meta’s lead.”
More suits
Thousands more lawsuits are being brought by families, individuals, school districts and other attorneys general against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap.
The first went to trial earlier this year, with Meta and YouTube ordered to pay $6 million to a young woman. TikTok and Snap settled before trial.