GoKawiilMeta has reached a settlement with US states in an $18B lawsuit accusing the social media giant of deliberately making Instagram addictive to teenagers. The money will be used to fund youth safety initiatives and more, though there is a catch.
More importantly, the company has agreed to introduce unprecedented protections against overuse of its social media apps by teens …
Lawsuit against Meta now settled
US states have long been pushing for stronger protections against “harmful” algorithmic feeds in social media apps, arguing that companies like Meta deliberately seek to get them addicted to overuse of apps like Instagram. Harmful effects include cyberbullying, pressure to achieve unrealistic body images, and loss of sleep leading to reduced grades at school.
Actions by a growing number of individual states eventually led to a coordinated lawsuit against Meta by attorneys general representing a total of 52 US states, territories, and the District of Columbia. Meta has now agreed to settle the suit and introduce far stronger protections.
The new teen protective measures
Meta listed the new measures, which will automatically apply to under-18s on both Instagram and Facebook:
Time Limit : A default two-hour daily time limit that teens can only turn off with a parent’s permission. This limit is cumulative across Facebook and Instagram, and time spent scrolling on both apps counts toward the total, including if we detect that someone has multiple accounts.
: A default two-hour daily time limit that teens can only turn off with a parent’s permission. This limit is cumulative across Facebook and Instagram, and time spent scrolling on both apps counts toward the total, including if we detect that someone has multiple accounts. Night Mode : A default block from our apps between midnight and 6am. This means teens will not be able to post or view their Feed, Stories, Explore, or Reels, for example.
: A default block from our apps between midnight and 6am. This means teens will not be able to post or view their Feed, Stories, Explore, or Reels, for example. School Mode : Notifications will be muted by default between 8 AM and 3 PM. During those hours, teens will no longer receive push notifications, except for direct messages and alerts about their account security or safety.
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