look news india
Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms has agreed to a record settlement of $16.68 billion (about Rs 1.4 lakh crore) in a landmark US legal case related to the mental health of children and teenagers, data privacy and allegations that social media promotes addiction.
This is the largest amount ever paid by any social media company in American history in matters related to child safety and youth mental health. The lawsuit, filed by more than 29 US states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, accused Meta of deliberately designing its algorithm so that children could become addicted to it.
What were the main and serious allegations against the company?
According to court documents and prosecutors, Meta was charged with several felonies:
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Addiction by Design: The ‘infinite scroll’ and notification loops on the platforms were designed to keep minors glued to the screen for hours, which adversely affected their mental and physical health.
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Violation of data privacy rules: The company was accused of collecting personal data of minors without parental consent in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
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Use of data in AI and machine learning: The states also claimed that the data collected from children was used to train the company’s AI and machine-learning models.
Although Meta has not formally admitted any legal wrongdoing or liability under this agreement, it has signed this huge settlement to avoid huge penalties from the lawsuit (which could reach trillions of dollars).
Will Facebook and Instagram be closed now?
Let us put an end to this rumor spreading on social media and make it clear that Facebook and Instagram will not shut down at all. This settlement is not to ban the platforms, but to implement comprehensive security improvements and financial penalties in them.
Meta will continue to operate as usual for its normal users around the world, but there will be radical changes to the way the platform works for teenagers and children under 18.
These strict rules and restrictions will be applicable for minor users
As per the terms of the agreement, Meta must implement a number of stringent security features on its platforms:
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Daily Usage and Time Limit: There will be strict capping on daily screen time for teenagers.
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Night-Time Blocks (Night Restrictions): There will be automatic restrictions or alerts on children’s use of apps during late nights and school hours.
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Strict Age Verification: AI based and strong verification system will be implemented to stop underage users from creating accounts by entering fake date of birth.
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Strong Parental Controls: Parents will get full rights to see and control who their children are chatting with and what they are watching.
Pressure on other tech companies also increased
After this historic decision, other global tech companies like YouTube (Google), TikTok (ByteDance) and Snapchat have also come under huge pressure to tighten child safety standards. This agreement is a clear message to the social media industry that playing with the future and mental health of children for the sake of profit will no longer be tolerated.