GoKawiil
Tech News
The European Union is preparing the EU Kids Act, a proposed law that goes beyond social media to limit children's access to video platforms, chatbots and online games. Under the draft, minors would face tiered restrictions by age, ranging from no access for under-3s to parent-supervised accounts and eventual independent access at 15, with mandatory age checks before signup or download.
Anthropic has made its consumer chatbot Claude unavailable to anyone under 18, requiring users to confirm their age when creating an account. The company says it uses detection systems to flag possible underage users and will suspend accounts showing such signals until identity is verified through Yoti, a third-party age-verification service.
Starting September 9, Australian law requires online game and app storefronts to verify that buyers are over 18. Steam is meeting this requirement by asking users to link a bank card rather than submit government ID or biometric data, mirroring the approach it already uses in the UK. Credit cards work reliably since Australian issuers only give them to adults, but debit cards—often held by minors—only pass verification under narrower conditions tied to specific bank and network flags.
Microsoft is introducing new APIs in Windows 11 that let third-party apps check whether a user falls into a child, teen, or adult age category, without revealing the person's actual birthdate. Developers can use this signal to tailor content, features, or restrictions based on age group rather than requesting precise personal data.
Meta has settled a child safety lawsuit brought by more than 40 states plus DC and several territories, agreeing to pay up to $17 billion over a decade. As part of the deal it will roll out teen-specific product changes, including a default two-hour daily usage cap, overnight app blocks from midnight to 6 a.m., muted notifications during school hours, hidden likes, disabled cosmetic filters, and an option for a non-algorithmic feed.
Meta has agreed to detailed commitments requiring more robust methods for identifying underage users, including AI tools and facial analysis, as part of a legal settlement over child safety. The company faces the technical challenge of accurately distinguishing minors from adults without overreaching into the privacy of all users, since safety protections only work if kids are correctly identified in the first place.
Meta has agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 52 attorneys general representing 29 U.S. states over allegations it designed Instagram and Facebook to hook young users. The company admits no wrongdoing but commits to detailed platform changes for minors, with the payout spread across a decade, softening its financial impact given Meta's $200 billion-plus annual revenue.
Meta has reached a settlement with 29 US states that had sued the company over allegedly designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive and harmful to minors. Reuters reports the deal could cost Meta as much as $16.68 billion and would involve 52 state attorneys general, requiring Meta to adopt default usage limits during school and nighttime hours plus stricter age verification. The agreement still needs court approval but would let Meta avoid a trial that could have forced broader industry changes.