Online Safety: Meta wants to share social dilemma pain with TikTok and YouTube after $18bn settlement

Meta has settled – pending approval – a case about the additcive features of its social media app that was first filed by 51 US States in 2023, for $18-billion. Now it is calling on TikTok and YouTube to also comply.

The lawsuit, initially filed in 2023, alleged that Meta designed psychologically addictive features to ensnare youth and teens, collected data from under-13 users without parental consent in violation of the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa), and misled the public about platform safety.

California Attorney-General Rob Bonta, representing a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys-general, framed the settlement as a monumental turning point for children’s safety:

“Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families. Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms – and will do it within months. We are talking about time limits, stopping notifications during school, a block on the app during critical overnight hours, bans on plastic surgery filters, and so much more.

“Alongside a bipartisan coalition of my colleagues, I am proud to deliver this settlement that addresses the concerns at the core of our lawsuit and institutes real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children on Facebook and Instagram – right now, no more waiting.”

Naturally, Meta’s legal chief CJ Mahoney is using this as an opportunity to rather establish a new, peer-driven industry-wide benchmark.

“I’m pleased to announce that Meta has reached an agreement with a bipartisan group of state attorneys-general from around the country on a new set of rules governing teens’ use of social media. The framework we’ve negotiated will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms. Our new Time Limit commitments, Night Mode features and usage limits during school hours set the right path forward for our whole industry, but this framework will only work if all our peers join us.

“Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution. We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework, right away. As a parent, I’m proud of both the work Meta has done to protect kids historically, and of this new groundbreaking agreement. But its success depends on all other social media platforms following Meta’s lead.”

The proposed settlement includes a monetary payment of up to $17-billion to the states over 10 years. Under this framework, California alone is set to receive between $1.5-billion and $2.1-billion, subject to final court approval.

Meta’s announcement , however, values the total agreement payment at approximately $18-billion, to be distributed in annual instalments over a 10-year period.

Okay, but how is the money going to be spent? Fair question, and it’s a bit of hand waving and many lawyers getting rich… 70% of the total payment (approximately $12.7-billion) will be distributed to participating states and territories over the decade.