Meta Settles Landmark Child Safety Case for Up to $17 Billion a Week Into Trial
The case from 29 state attorneys general could have cost the tech company as much as $1.4 trillion The post Meta Settles Landmark Child Safety Case for Up to $17 Billion a Week Into Trial appeared first on TheWrap .
Meta reached a landmark settlement of up to $17 billion to resolve a child safety case on Wednesday, with the funds to be disbursed over a ten-year period. California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta, hailed the agreement as a transformative step towards making social media safer for children, emphasizing that the company has agreed to implement significant changes within months.
Key provisions of the settlement include default daily time limits, nighttime use blocks that can only be lifted by parents, enhanced parental controls, age verification tools, and appointment of an independent auditor to monitor compliance. The agreement was reached among a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general from various U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
Meta declined to admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. The California case, which commenced last Tuesday, centered on Meta's alleged development of manipulative features on its platforms to keep children engaged and its failure to protect the privacy of underage users. The company's settlement announcement came in a blog post titled "An Open Letter to TikTok and YouTube to Join Us in Supporting Teens," emphasizing the need for other platforms to adopt similar safeguards.
Meta urged competitors to join the effort, as restrictions on one app often push users to others. The settlement follows recent legal actions against Meta and its competitors, including $400 million and $30 million settlements with TikTok and Google, respectively, over child safety concerns.
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