Commentary: Meta, under duress, finally does the right thing for teens
The US$18 billion settlement is tangible progress and proof that a well-constructed case can bring accountability to technology companies, says Dave Lee for Bloomberg Opinion.
A landmark US$18 billion settlement has finally forced Meta Platforms to take significant steps to safeguard the wellbeing of millions of young users on its social media platforms, says Dave Lee for Bloomberg Opinion. While the financial sum is considerable, it is the consequential positive outcome for teenagers that truly matters. Meta's voluntary call for other social media apps to adopt similar measures, although opportunistic, highlights the importance of these protective changes.
Prominent among the new features are daily time limits, disabling notifications during school hours, disabling autoplay, non-algorithmic feeds, a midnight-to-6am lockout, and stringent age-gating to prevent underage users. These safeguards come alongside measures to eliminate "beautifying" filters that have been deemed harmful, and limiting the dopamine-inducing effects of "likes."
The settlement may impact Meta's advertising revenue, but it averted a more severe outcome - an outright ban on social media for teens and a staggering US$1.4 trillion risk from the joint lawsuit. The move potentially opens doors for Meta to raise debt for its AI initiatives.
Critics argue that the measures are optional, even as defaults, and could be weakened. However, Meta insists parents can lock in the default settings. The settlement defines Meta's approach as taking initiative rather than receiving punishment, and the deal may prove beneficial for competitors like YouTube and TikTok, which have higher engagement among teens.
Written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
