SAN FRANCISCO: In a landmark development, Meta reached a proposed settlement on Aug 26 with US states over claims it designed Facebook and Instagram to hook children.
Here are the main terms, which require a judge's approval to take effect.
The money
Meta would pay in 10 annual instalments totalling about US$11.7bil (RM47.12bil), with a further US$5bil (RM20.14bil) payable only if rival platforms sign comparable agreements – a maximum of US$16.7bil (RM67.26bil).
Separately, the company would pay US$75mil (RM302.06mil) toward the states' legal costs and US$459mil (RM1.85bil) to settle older claims tied to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
States are expected to spend the money on youth mental health programs, crisis lines, after-school activities and digital literacy, though final decisions rest with state legislatures.
Nighttime block
Within six months, teenage accounts would by default be locked out of Facebook and Instagram from midnight to 6:00 am local time.
Messaging and settings would stay available but stripped down so teens cannot use them to reach the wider app. Push notifications would be switched off from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am.
Daily time limit
Teen accounts would default to two hours of cumulative daily use across Meta's apps, resetting at midnight. Messaging and long-form video do not count toward the total.
Neither the curfew nor the cap can be changed by a teenager without a parent's approval, and the limits can be tightened.
If competing platforms adopt equivalent commitments, the overnight block widens to 10:00 pm to 7:00 am and the daily allowance drops to 60 minutes per app, capped at two hours across all of them.
Notifications would be silenced during school hours, defined as 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on weekdays between Aug 15 and June 15.
Within four months, teens would be offered a feed that is not algorithmically personalised. Like counts would be hidden by default and cosmetic surgery filters barred.
Age checks
Meta has one year to deploy an accurate age assurance system: age-checking tools must mistake no more than three per cent of 13- to 15-year-olds as adults, and no more than 10 per cent of 16- and 17-year-olds.
New accounts whose age is unverified after 14 days are treated as teen accounts regardless of the age stated.
For users under 13, who are barred from the platforms under US law, Meta must presume a reported account is underage absent evidence otherwise and check the friend networks of deleted accounts for other underage users.
Role of parents
Parents supervising a teen account would get daily notifications of time spent, prompts to review settings and the power to adjust school hours.
Meta must respond to teens reporting illegal or offensive content within six hours in at least 90% of cases filed in English or Spanish.
An independent auditor, chosen jointly by Meta and a committee of states and paid for by the company, would monitor compliance of the overall settlement for 10 years.
A separate ruling bars Meta from making false or misleading statements about its safety features. – AFP
