Meta Holds Back $5.3bn in Teen Safety Settlement Unless TikTok and YouTube Match Its Rules
Meta says it will pay approximately $18bn over ten years to settle states' teen safety case. However, roughly $5.3bn of this sum is contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting specific safety measures and paying matching sums.
The Settlement Structure
- Total Payment: Approximately $18bn over ten years.
- State Share: Roughly 70%, totaling $12.7bn, to be distributed among participating states.
- Contingent Amount: $5.3bn, split evenly between YouTube and TikTok, depending on their implementation of certain rules.
Required Actions for TikTok and YouTube
For the held-back amount to be released:
- Time Limit: Implement a one-hour daily limit on usage.
- Night Mode: Enable night mode, blocking access between midnight and 6 am.
- Age Assurance: Implement age assurance measures.
- Matching Payments: Each platform must pay an amount equaling 30% of the contingent sum.
Implementation and Timing
- Initial Period: The daily time limit and night mode start after a five-year commitment.
- Extended Protection: These measures extend to ten years if industry peers also sign on.
Protections for Teens
Pending judicial approval, the following protections will apply automatically to under-18s on Instagram and Facebook in participating states:
- Daily Time Limit: Two hours default, cumulatively across Facebook and Instagram. Teens can only disable it with parental permission.
- Night Mode: Blocks access between midnight and 6 am.
- School Mode: Mutes notifications between 8 am and 3 pm, except for direct messages and account security alerts.
- Use Prompts: Sent after 15, 60, and 90 minutes of continuous use.
Additional Changes
- Feed Customization: Teens can choose a non-algorithmic feed as their default, and parents can require this setting.
- Autoplay: Teens and parents can disable autoplay.
- Likes and Reactions: Likes and reactions hide by default on teens' own posts and others' posts.
- Filters: Meta will block extreme makeup filters, in addition to cosmetic surgery filters already blocked.