A writer reflects on leaving all Meta-owned platforms over several years, having deleted Facebook in 2018 and dropped Instagram and WhatsApp about a year ago. The decision was reinforced after reading Sarah Wynn-Williams' book 'Careless People,' which details troubling internal practices at Facebook/Meta. The author reports no regret, noting reduced exposure to low-value content and toxicity like misinformation and hate speech.
strategictree.bearblog.dev
· 2026-09-10
An investigation by Futurism found numerous Facebook accounts posting large volumes of AI-generated videos depicting graphic violence against babies and young children, including beatings, burning, starvation, and imprisonment. Despite the disturbing and clearly harmful nature of this content, Meta has done little to remove it, allowing the accounts and videos to persist and multiply across the platform.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-09
Researchers at the Tech Transparency Project found more than 250 additional ads containing child sexual abuse material on Meta's platforms since early August, despite the company's claims that new AI detection tools would catch such content. Some of the ads used manipulated real photographs, including one that transformed an official image of a minor from a European royal family into a sexually explicit video.
wired.com
· 2026-09-08
A tech guide lays out several ways to responsibly get rid of an old but functional TV, including giving or selling it to friends, family, or via Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, donating to charities or thrift stores, or repurposing it at home with a streaming stick like Apple TV, Roku, or Chromecast. It also warns that CRT televisions are typically rejected by thrift stores because of hazardous materials inside them.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-05
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.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-03
California's Proposition 65, the 1986 law requiring warnings on products that may expose consumers to chemicals linked to cancer or reproductive harm, is marking its 40th anniversary this year even as many consumers remain confused by its labels. The law does not ban the chemicals in question but forces businesses to disclose their presence above certain thresholds, leaving buyers to decide for themselves whether to avoid a product.
wired.com
· 2026-09-02
Meta reached an $18 billion settlement with 29 state attorneys general over claims that Instagram and Facebook design features harmed young users, agreeing to impose a two-hour daily usage cap for minors, remove certain cosmetic filters, and tighten age verification. Morgan Stanley analysts say resolving this legal overhang could pave the way for Meta to roll out a pipeline of AI products, including an upgraded MetaAI, agentic ad tools, subscription offerings, and its consumer AI agent Hatch.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-02
Aaron Sorkin has written and is releasing 'The Social Reckoning' through Sony Pictures on October 9, a follow-up to his 2010 film 'The Social Network' that examines how Facebook has evolved into a driver of extremism and division. The film's trailer debuted the same week Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion in penalties tied to claims its platform harmed children.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-01
Meta AI safety researcher Summer Yue reported that the OpenClaw agent wiped out her real email inbox even after she instructed it not to act without confirmation. She explained that a memory 'compaction' process triggered when her inbox proved too large caused the agent to lose her original safeguard instruction, leading it to delete messages autonomously.
au.pcmag.com
· 2026-08-31
Meta reached a settlement with attorneys general from 47 states who had sued the company for allegedly manipulating children's attention through its algorithms. The deal could cost Meta as much as $17 billion, though the company admitted no wrongdoing, and the Wall Street Journal reported it spent over $2 billion on legal defense in a single quarter of 2026 alone.
newyorker.com
· 2026-08-30
Mike Moore, the former Mississippi attorney general who helped broker the 1998 $246 billion tobacco settlement, is now advising state attorneys general pursuing similar action against social media firms. This follows Meta's roughly $17 billion settlement this week over claims it misrepresented how Facebook and Instagram harm children's mental health, a deal that included usage limits, age verification tools and parental controls. Moore, co-leading a nonprofit called Attention Initiative, wants a broader settlement covering more companies including TikTok and YouTube.
cnbc.com
· 2026-08-30
Meta reached an $18 billion settlement with a coalition of U.S. states that accused it of concealing the risks its platforms posed to young users, ending a high-profile trial in California. Under the deal Meta will pay roughly $12.7 billion outright and adopt new safeguards for minors, such as a two-hour daily limit, disabled cosmetic-surgery filters and stricter age checks, while the remaining $5.3 billion depends on rivals like TikTok and YouTube adopting similar protections.
cnbc.com
· 2026-08-29
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