GoKawiil
Tech News
The UK government says Apple and Google failed to meet a three-month deadline to make it impossible to capture, view, or share child nudity images on their devices. In response, officials are introducing what they call world-first legislation that would impose fines and potential criminal liability on executives at companies that don't build these protections into phones and tablets sold in the UK.
House Select Committee on China Chair John Moolenaar says TikTok backed out of a planned public roundtable meant to address Chinese government access to US user data and its algorithm. Moolenaar said TikTok withdrew on August 27th, a day after Meta settled with state attorneys general over child safety claims, and cited concerns about facing child safety questions despite that not being the meeting's focus.
MIT Technology Review's latest coverage highlights two issues: digital child-safety tools that have prevented harms like suicide and predation but also caused false alarms and anxiety, with researchers proposing better alternatives. Separately, the outlet examines how agriculture's reliance on natural gas for fertilizer production has driven price volatility, worsened by the Iran conflict's impact on trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
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 reached a settlement with attorneys general from 52 states and territories that ends a years-long lawsuit accusing the company of failing to protect children on its platforms. The deal requires Meta to pay a capped amount of roughly $16.68 billion and to roll out a series of new safety features, while also pledging to push YouTube and TikTok to adopt similar measures, even though that would raise Meta's own payout under the settlement's terms.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk responded to Meta's settlement with almost all US states, which requires the company to add child safety features like time limits and parental controls. Meta has urged TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures, but Türk argued governments should not wait for litigation to force such protections across the whole industry.
Meta is rolling out new safety measures for Instagram and Facebook users under 18, including two-hour daily time limits, nighttime blocks, and algorithm-free feed options, as part of a settlement with dozens of US states over child safety and addiction claims. However, these protections currently apply only in the US, with Meta saying it will keep talking to other governments about expanding them.
Meta has settled child-safety-related claims for $18 billion, according to a roundup of risk and compliance news. The same briefing notes Florida's governor voicing concern over Flock surveillance cameras and the FBI dismantling a large China-linked hacking network.
Meta reached a settlement of nearly $18 billion with almost all US states over claims it designed Facebook and Instagram to foster compulsive use among children and hid mental health risks. The deal, still pending court approval, requires Meta to impose a default two-hour daily time limit for teens, a midnight-to-6am usage block, and a school-hours notification mute, while Texas separately secured $1 billion outside the main $16.7 billion pact.
Meta has settled litigation brought by attorneys general across 52 US states, territories and Washington DC over allegations that Facebook and Instagram harmed young users' mental health. The company will pay up to roughly $16.68bn in annual installments over a decade, funding youth online safety programs, while denying any wrongdoing. As part of the deal, Meta must add teen safety features like night-time blocks, school-hours access limits, stronger parental controls and age verification.
Meta has reached an $18 billion settlement with attorneys general from 48 states resolving claims that its platforms harmed young users' mental health. The agreement includes new protections for minors, but the full payout is contingent on rivals TikTok and YouTube adopting comparable safety measures.