Beyond Malaysia's under-16 ban: Making social media safer by design

IN August 2026, Meta agreed to a settlement with 48 of the 50 US states over claims that its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, violated federal child privacy laws and state consumer protection laws. (Meta also owns WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads.)

Although it did not admit wrongdoing, Meta agreed to pay up to US$18billion (RM72.8bil) – the exact amount depends on certain conditions being met – to the 48 states and also agreed to make changes to its platforms to improve youth online safety.