{
  "id": 3734149,
  "title": "UAE parents welcome Meta’s $18 billion child-safety deal and midnight social media shutdown: ‘Pressure is off us’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/uae-parents-welcome-metas-18-billion-child-safety-deal-and-midnight",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T12:13:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/uae/uae-parents-welcome-metas-18-billion-child-safety-deal-and-midnight-social-media-shutdown-pressure-is-off-us-1.500654188"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "UAE parents have welcomed Meta's $18 billion child-safety deal and the proposed social media shutdown, viewing it as a significant shift in responsibility. The settlement, reached from a major trial in California, requires Meta to block Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6am, disable notifications during school hours, and limit teenagers to two hours of usage per day. The company will also employ age-assurance technology to verify users' ages.\n\nNicole Akalla, a senior PR & Communications Consultant based in Dubai, believes that automatic app shutdowns will take the pressure off parents, eliminating daily arguments about screen time. She supports the proposed limits, including the two-hour usage cap, as they remove the need for parents to constantly nag their children. However, Akalla acknowledges that parents still need to enforce the rules consistently.\n\nSharrah Khilawala shares a similar perspective, emphasizing the importance of sleep for children's development. She supports the app restrictions and believes they will help alleviate the burden of daily screen time policing. However, Khilawala cautions that the real challenge lies in parental consistency in enforcing the set boundaries.\n\nChris Baby, a mother of three young children, firmly supports the new rules, arguing that social media screen time should not be mixed with general screen time. She believes that children should not be on social media at night, especially younger ones, and sees no need for unrestricted access during those hours. Instead, she favors limits on social media usage for children and recognizes that even educational screen time should be moderated.",
  "summary": "Has the doomscrolling finally met its doom? It might just seem that the prayer of many parents has finally been answered: Meta’s landmark settlement might just signal a significant shift. Should tech companies finally shoulder more of the responsibility for protecting children? For years, the responsibility for managing children's social-media use has largely landed at the feet of parents: Set…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 10,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Le Monde English",
        "title": "Meta settles landmark social media addiction case, avoiding jury",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/meta-settles-landmark-social-media-addiction-case-avoiding-jury",
        "published": "2026-08-27T09:50:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "title": "Analysis:Meta's social media settlement leaves its money machine unscathed",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/analysis-metas-social-media-settlement-leaves-its-money-machine",
        "published": "2026-08-27T10:06:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "NPR",
        "title": "Meta reaches $17B settlement. And, nuclear regulator to abandon radiation safety rule",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/meta-reaches-17b-settlement-and-nuclear-regulator-to-abandon",
        "published": "2026-08-27T11:02:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Maverick",
        "title": "Online Safety: Meta wants to share social dilemma pain with TikTok and YouTube after $18bn settlement",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/online-safety-meta-wants-to-share-social-dilemma-pain-with-tiktok-and",
        "published": "2026-08-27T12:36:16.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "National Post",
        "title": "After U.S. settlement, European Union says Meta must ‘protect our kids too’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/after-u-s-settlement-european-union-says-meta-must-protect-our-kids",
        "published": "2026-08-27T12:43:15.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Why does the Meta lawsuit settlement matter?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/why-does-the-meta-lawsuit-settlement-matter",
        "published": "2026-08-27T13:24:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Local Germany",
        "title": "EU demands Meta 'protect our kids' after US settlement",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/eu-demands-meta-protect-our-kids-after-us-settlement",
        "published": "2026-08-27T14:13:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Local France",
        "title": "EU demands Meta 'protect our kids' after US settlement",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/eu-demands-meta-protect-our-kids-after-us-settlement-3750850",
        "published": "2026-08-27T14:13:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Local Sweden",
        "title": "EU demands Meta to 'protect our kids' after US settlement",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/eu-demands-meta-to-protect-our-kids-after-us-settlement",
        "published": "2026-08-27T14:13:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}