Meta settles with 29 US states, accepts new safety limits for teen users
Meta has reached a settlement with 29 US state attorneys general over child online safety, avoiding a trial that could have cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The company agreed to new age-verification standards and usage limits for teens.
Meta has settled a lawsuit brought by a coalition of 29 US state attorneys general over children's online safety, ending the case before it could proceed through the remainder of a trial. That trial reportedly carried the risk of costing the company hundreds of billions of dollars, a threat the settlement now removes.
New age assurance standard
Under the settlement terms, Meta agreed to develop an age assurance standard that will be subject to independent testing. The standard must keep false positive rates at or below 10 percent for users aged 16 to 17, and at or below 3 percent for users aged 13 to 15.
Additional protections for teens
Meta also agreed to let teenage users turn off personalized feeds, meaning they can opt out of content selected by the company's recommendation algorithm. The company will further suspend push notifications for teens between 10 PM and 7 AM, unless a parent disables that restriction, and will cap default daily usage of Meta apps for teens at two hours.
The story is described as still developing, suggesting further details may emerge.
