Meta to pay up to $18 billion to settle claims of harming children through social media
Meta has agreed to an $18 billion settlement over claims that its platforms harm children, reached during a federal court trial in California. While the settlement is significant, it represents a small fraction of Meta's profits. The company will only pay the full amount if rivals TikTok and YouTube agree to match it, with $12.1 billion guaranteed by state attorneys general.
Reports behind this story
Articles and publisher reports that informed this story.
Meta Shifts the Blame + Do Data Center Bans Work? + The Final HatGPT
Meta negotiated an unusual provision in their landmark settlement: If TikTok and YouTube also agree to penalties and changes to their products, Meta will pay more.
Buried in Meta’s $18B settlement is a legal pass on kids’ data
Meta’s settlement with 29 states allows it to retain certain data from children under 13 to train and test age-detection models, highlighting a privacy trade-off built into the deal.
What Meta’s $17 Billion Settlement Means
Our reporter Cecilia Kang explains Meta’s settlement of a lawsuit claiming that the company’s social media platforms had harmed teenage users.
Meta Deal Quietly Resolves Claims Over 2016 Election Data, Cambridge Analytica
Nestled into Meta Platforms Inc.’s landmark $18 billion settlement with US states to address social media harms to children was a seemingly unrelated agreement to resolve a different controversy that rocked Facebook after the 2016 presidential election.
An $18bn settlement is a drop in the ocean for Meta – but the tide will still come for it | Chris Stokel-Walker
This week’s settlement without liability was pragmatic, but it doesn’t change the inevitability of further lawsuits around the world Not many people would count paying $18bn they didn’t expect to when they woke up that morning as a victory. Yet for Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram, the agreement with 52 US attorneys general to settle claims that it designed its products to be addictive to children, and misled people about their safety, could be described as a win of sorts. Meta denies wrongdoing, and the amount it plans to pay will be spread over a decade. Some of it is contingent on other big tech firms not named in its case coughing up too. The cash is chump change for Meta, which made around $60bn in profit last year. More damaging to the tech giant in the long run could be the agreement to unwind some of the mechanics it has spent two decades perfecting to keep us on its platforms. Chris Stokel-Walker is the author of TikTok Boom: The Inside Story of the World’s Favourite App Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
Did Meta’s Big Settlement Actually Help It?
The tech giant’s landmark deal with states over teen use of social media may cost the company less than expected. It may hurt rivals more. Shares in Meta rose yesterday after the social media giant announced a landmark legal settlement.
The Morning Risk Report: Meta Reaches $18 Billion Settlement Over Child-Safety Claims
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Meta Reaches $18 Billion Settlement With 48 States Over Child-Safety Claims
The deal contains broad new safeguards for underage users but only pays out in full if TikTok and YouTube make similar concessions.
Meta’s $18 Billion Social Media Settlement by the Numbers
Meta Platforms Inc.’s plan to pay up to $18 billion in a sweeping settlement with almost every US state will resolve a slew of legal claims related to teenage users on the company’s social media platforms.
Meta to pay up to $18bn to settle claims its platforms harm children
The deal has been reached during a California federal court trial over claims brought by US states.
Meta Settles Social Media Lawsuit for $18B
Meta Platforms Inc. said it agreed to pay up to $18 billion in landmark settlements to resolve social media claims from US states that would require the company to make major changes to how it operates platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Bloomberg News Investigative Reporter Olivia Carville and Bloomberg Tech Host Ed Ludlow break down the announced agreement and what it means for the tech giant. (Source: Bloomberg)
Don’t praise Meta ‘for what the court orders them to do’: Meta will only pay the full $17.1 billion settlement if TikTok and YouTube match it
State attorneys general guaranteed $12.1 billion. Meta says it's holding back $5.3 billion unless its rivals sign on.