Before it began, it had been touted as one of the largest trials in American history, comparable to the Big Tobacco trial of the 1990s. In fact, experts estimated that it would last six to eight weeks, while the fine imposed on the defendant could reach—according to some, at least extreme, predictions—as much as $1.4 trillion.
In the end, Meta’s trial… ended early. Within seven days, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram reached a $16.7 billion settlement with the 29 U.S. states that had brought the case against it, while also agreeing to make certain changes to how its popular platforms operate in order to protect underage users.
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Specifically, the agreement, which was announced on Wednesday, calls for new restrictions on app usage by teenagers, most notably the establishment of a daily limit of two hours total on Facebook and Instagram.
READ ALSO: Massive Settlement: Meta Pays $16.7 Billion to U.S. States to Settle Historic Lawsuit, Imposes Restrictions on Children
The limit will be automatically applied to accounts that the company knows belong to teenagers. However, time spent exchanging direct messages will not count toward the two-hour daily limit.
No Notifications at Night or During School Hours
Under the terms of the settlement, notifications on minors’ accounts will be automatically disabled from midnight to 6:00 a.m. On school days, notifications will also be silenced from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with the aim of minimizing distractions during class.
At the same time, likes on posts and other content will be completely hidden from teenage users on both platforms. This change aims to reduce social comparison and the pressure that can result from the public visibility of a post’s reach.
Most of the new features will be enabled automatically or offered as an option to teens over the next six months.
New systems for identifying underage users
It will take more time to develop the new systems Meta will use to determine which users are actually children or teenagers, even if they provided a different age when signing up.
Full implementation of the mechanisms for identifying underage users is expected to take up to a year.
This issue is considered critical, as the new restrictions can only be effective if the company knows or is able to estimate with reasonable accuracy the actual age of each account holder.
Meta has developed more than 60 safety tools for Instagram alone. Many of these are now enabled automatically; however, in the past, several features were offered on an optional basis, requiring users themselves or their parents to enable them.
Internal documents presented during the trial showed that the company was aware that the optional tools were typically used only to a limited extent. Despite the low activation rates, however, it continued to release certain security features without making them the default setting.
The $18 billion settlement
The lawsuit was filed by 29 U.S. states, a number representing nearly two-thirds of the country. Formally, the case concerned the protection of children’s privacy online and was based on the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
This law was enacted nearly 30 years ago, long before the emergence of today’s major social media platforms. The focus was on Meta’s collection and use of data from children under the age of 13 over a period of several years.
In practice, however, the proceedings evolved into a broader challenge to the company’s claims that it effectively protects underage users.
The settlement stipulates that Meta will pay up to $18 billion over the course of a decade. The amount is significantly less than the financial penalties it is estimated could have faced had it lost the lawsuit.
The extreme theoretical scenario called for a maximum fine for every child who used one of the platforms for more than half an hour a day over a 12-year period. Based on this calculation, the total amount could reach $1.4 trillion—roughly equal to the market capitalization of Meta as a whole.
Such a fine was considered extremely unlikely; however, even the most realistic estimates suggested potential penalties in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Meta does not admit to any illegal or harmful conduct as part of the settlement.
The Testimony That Put Meta on the Defensive
The trial concluded after just five days and before the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, was called to testify. The testimony that preceded it, however, put significant pressure on Meta.
Arturo Bejar, a former Instagram engineer and later a whistleblower, claimed that he had previously informed management about harmful content and incidents affecting children, but that the necessary measures had not been taken.
Another executive stated that he did not recall writing in a presentation that Meta sometimes chose to pay fines for regulatory violations rather than making the necessary changes.
These allegations contradict the company’s public position, which—for months and across multiple court cases—has maintained that it has robust mechanisms in place to protect children.
Possible Expansion of Measures Beyond the U.S.
The changes are initially expected to be implemented in the United States. However, it is considered likely that similar measures will soon be demanded by other countries as well, given the growing international concern over the impact of social media on children’s mental health and safety.
Meta argues that the new features will only be truly effective if they are also adopted by competing platforms. In a highly competitive environment, apps such as TikTok and Snapchat may be called upon to implement similar restrictions.
It remains to be seen, however, whether young users will continue to use these platforms with the same intensity once notifications, likes, and time spent on the apps are significantly restricted.
Source: Proto Thema
