In a statement on its website, Meta announced its settlement with a bipartisan group of attorneys general alleging that the company’s social media platforms harmed young users.
“Today, we are announcing an agreement with a bipartisan group of 52 attorneys general across US states, territories, and the District of Columbia, building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens.”
Meta said that the settlement “includes a payment of approximately $18 billion,” which will be “distributed in annual installments over a 10-year period.” In addition, the company will revamp its platforms to include protective measures for children, such as stricter age verification, nighttime blocks, enhanced parental controls, daily time limits, and other measures.
Meta called on other social media companies popular with teens and young people, such as YouTube and Snap, to follow suit.
“While [the changes are] an important step, the fact is that teens move fluidly between dozens of apps a day. All platforms should empower parents and support teens by putting the same measures in place, because we know that when teens are restricted on one app, they simply move to another.
For meaningful progress to happen, we urge TikTok and YouTube to join us and state attorneys general in adopting this new standard, to ensure teens use social media in a healthy and responsible way.”
The agreement also has explicit provisions to encourage other social media companies to adopt the limits that Meta has agreed to.
Participating states, for instance, will receive about 70% of the allocated payment over a decade. But the remaining 30% will be released only after two specific conditions are met. The first is that YouTube and TikTok implement a 1-hour daily limit, a restricted night mode, and age-verification measures. And the second is that each of the companies pays about $5.3 billion to fund youth online safety initiatives. If YouTube and TikTok pay up, so will Meta.
Several safety measures will also be strengthened should YouTube and TikTok sign on. The incentive structure works like this: Meta pays into a pot that its rivals must also contribute to. And while its engagement figures for young people will likely fall, it won’t be at a relative disadvantage if those measures are adopted by its largest rivals.