Meta's $17 Billion Settlement Mandates New Safeguards for Kids—Many Are Promising, Says Safety Expert

In a significant legal development, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has reached a $17 billion settlement with 52 attorneys general across the United States. The lawsuit alleged that the social media giant knowingly designed its products to be harmful and addictive to children. This settlement is one of several legal challenges Meta has faced this year concerning alleged harm to young users.

The substantial sum from the settlement will be allocated to fund youth online safety initiatives and other state priorities. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who co-led the effort, stated that the financial penalty is secondary to the crucial changes in business practices Meta will implement to protect children's mental health. This settlement represents the largest payout of its kind.

Under the terms of the agreement, Meta is required to implement a series of safeguards and parental control features for users under 18 on both Facebook and Instagram. These measures are mandated to remain in effect for a decade, with Meta's payments distributed annually over this period. As of Friday afternoon, Meta's market capitalization stood at $1.47 trillion.

Laura Edelson, an assistant professor of computer sciences at Northeastern University specializing in social media safety, views many of the settlement's mandated features as promising for enhancing online safety for young users. Her previous research indicated that a significant portion of social media safety features across the industry were ineffective in protecting young users.

Studies have consistently shown associations between increased screen time and negative mental and physical health outcomes in teenagers. A considerable percentage of U.S. teenagers report spending at least four hours daily on social media.

Meta is not the only social media company to face scrutiny over child safety. TikTok previously agreed to a $400 million settlement over allegations of violating children's online privacy laws. YouTube has also introduced new teen-focused protections, including parental controls for setting time limits.

The Meta settlement includes daily time limits for minors on both platforms, a feature that research suggests can be beneficial. However, Edelson notes that the mandates may not be entirely perfect.

Here's a closer look at some of the new features and their potential impact on teens, according to Edelson:

New Safeguards Include a Two-Hour Daily Limit on Usage

Meta has introduced several new features for minors on Instagram and Facebook:

• A cumulative daily usage limit of two hours across Facebook and Instagram. This limit can only be overridden with parental permission and does not apply to messaging.
• A 'Night Mode' that restricts access to features like feeds, stories, and reels between midnight and 6 a.m. Messaging will remain accessible during this period.
• The option for teens or parents to disable autoplay on content, requiring users to actively engage to view more.
• The removal of like and reaction counts on all post types.
• A non-algorithmic feed option, which personalizes content only from followed accounts and eliminates recommendations.
• Enhanced age verification technology to prevent users under 13 from accessing the platforms and to ensure 13-to-17-year-olds use age-appropriate versions of the apps.

Most of these safeguards are expected to be rolled out within six months, with age verification technology potentially taking up to a year. While many new features will be automatically implemented for teen accounts, parents and teens will need to manually disable autoplay and the algorithmic feed in their settings.

Edelson highlights the disabling of autoplay as a particularly promising feature, as it can help reduce overall usage duration. However, she points out that requiring users to take extra steps to disable features can be a barrier, as many may not go through the effort.

While the new features address autoplay, the settlement does not include the disabling of infinite scroll, a feature that continuously loads new content. Edelson considers this a significant omission. However, Meta's spokesperson suggests that the two-hour time limit may render infinite scroll less impactful for teens.

'Parents Should Talk to Their Kids Regularly About Their Social Media'

The settlement also mandates the establishment of an independent social media research foundation to support research on teen well-being. Additionally, an independent auditor will assess Meta's compliance with the agreement and report to the states.

Edelson believes that such a foundation could foster healthier relationships between teens and social media by providing an independent means to verify platform commitments.

For parents, Edelson emphasizes that there is no universal advice for navigating social media with their children. She advises open and regular conversations about social media usage, helping children understand their engagement and how it makes them feel, as the optimal approach varies for each child and evolves with their developmental stages and social environments.