Meta Platforms has agreed to pay up to $16.7 billion to settle a lawsuit with 29 states that accuse the social media platform of deliberately creating addiction in teenagers.
Meta Platforms has agreed to pay up to $16.7 billion to settle a lawsuit with 29 states that accuse the social media platform of deliberately creating addiction in teenagers.
Bloomberg writes about this with reference to relevant court documents.
The settlement also requires the company to implement new restrictions on its platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, including limiting the amount of time young people can spend scrolling and prohibiting minors from turning off certain safety settings without parental consent. The agreement must be signed by a judge.
At the same time, in its statement, Meta, which, although it agreed to such an agreement, denies the allegations against it.
«This agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by Meta of any liability or violation of any local, state, federal or international law,» the statement said.
The settlement came after two weeks of litigation in federal court in Oakland, California. Lawyers from 29 states sought not only huge financial penalties from the company but also court orders that could force it to change the way it manages its platforms.
The planned settlement also includes the appointment of an independent compliance auditor who will be able to make its own recommendations and report its findings to the states.
The agreement will, among other things, require Meta to improve its age verification tools to better identify underage users on the app. Teens will also be restricted from accessing certain features, such as viewing the number of likes on a post.
«Meta has agreed to undertake significant transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms, and will do so within a few months,» said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Previously, dev.ua reported that Meta would appear in court in 29 states in a case about the harm of Instagram and Facebook to children. The amount of potential fines was impressive: Meta estimated the maximum sanctions at $1.4 trillion (with the company’s market capitalization of about $1.5 trillion).
