Tech giant Meta has agreed to a significant settlement of up to $18 billion to resolve claims from 29 U.S. states that its platforms, Facebook and Instagram, have harmed children.
Meta, which has not admitted any wrongdoing, will introduce new safety features for younger users. These measures include a daily time limit of two hours for children on both platforms and a "night mode" designed to discourage extended use. The company has stated that other technology platforms should be mandated to adopt similar features.
The settlement follows a brief trial, the details of which were discussed by technology and AI editor Zoe Kleinman on a recent BBC Newscast episode. The exact terms of the settlement and the timeline for the implementation of the new features were not fully detailed in the notes.