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
Google is letting eligible college students claim a full year of its $19.99-per-month AI Pro plan at no cost, provided they verify enrollment through SheerID. Buyers of certain hardware, including Chromebook Plus, standard Chromebooks, and the Pixel 11, also qualify for several months of free access, and some plans can be shared with others.
zdnet.com
· 2026-08-28
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that Amazon is now part of YouTube's e-commerce affiliate network, letting eligible U.S. creators tag Amazon products in long-form videos, livestreams, and Shorts. Creators will earn commissions when viewers buy tagged items, expanding an affiliate program YouTube launched in 2022.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-27
Rockstar released its promised 'extended look' at Grand Theft Auto VI on YouTube and its own website, following a premiere on Netflix. The nearly 27-minute video, captured entirely from the PS5 version, emphasizes atmosphere, locations and protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos over detailed gameplay mechanics, though it does show shootouts, car chases and activities like scuba diving.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-27
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.
techdirt.com
· 2026-08-27
YouTube announced eligible U.S. creators can now tag Amazon products directly within shorts, long-form videos, and livestreams to earn a share of resulting sales. The feature integrates Amazon's catalog natively into YouTube's Shopping Affiliate Program, replacing the older method of pasting Associates links in video descriptions. Creators can also enable auto-tagging, letting YouTube's systems scan past uploads to identify and tag eligible products automatically.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-27
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.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-08-27
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that Amazon has become a participant in YouTube's creator affiliate shopping program. Creators can now tag Amazon products directly within videos, Shorts and livestreams, earning commissions when viewers buy through their links.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-27
Meta reached a settlement with attorneys general from 48 states and four US jurisdictions over teen safety practices on Facebook and Instagram, agreeing to pay up to $18 billion and implement stricter age verification, notification limits, and screentime caps for minors. Notably, roughly $5.3 billion of that payment is contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting comparable restrictions, a structure Meta explicitly encouraged in a public letter to its rivals.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-27
YouTube has confirmed it resolved a bug that caused videos to vanish from Watch Later and other playlists on mobile and desktop. Affected users had reported partial playlists, 'playlist does not exist' errors, and missing videos across phones, computers, and even Roku devices. The company says users should now see their full playlists restored.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-08-27
Meta has settled with 47 US states over youth safety harms, agreeing to pay at least $12 billion regardless of outcome, with an additional $5.3 billion contingent on TikTok, YouTube and Snap adopting similar protections like default usage limits and nighttime notification blocks. Meta publicized the deal through an 'Open Letter' and full-page newspaper ads urging its rivals to match its new standards, while TikTok, YouTube and Snap have not yet commented.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-27
Meta is reportedly encouraging other major platforms like YouTube and TikTok to share in settling claims over harm to young users' mental health, but Snapchat appears to be left out of that outreach. The move would spread liability and costs across multiple companies rather than Meta alone, even though bringing in more parties could theoretically raise Meta's own settlement obligations.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-08-27
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