Lights out, Instagram off? The changes to Meta for teens could be a big deal
Meta has agreed to a $17.1 billion settlement regarding a lawsuit alleging its platforms harm children and teens. The company will implement changes to reduce platform addictiveness, including offering non-personalized feeds for minors.
Why it matters
This settlement represents a significant legal and regulatory shift in how major tech companies are held accountable for the impact of their algorithms on youth mental health.
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The social media company Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion in a settlement in a federal lawsuit alleging the company's social media platforms have harmed children and teens. The company denies the allegations, but has agreed to make a suite of changes to its social platforms — Facebook and Instagram — to make them less compelling and potentially dangerous to minors.
Technology Why Meta's settlement could be an 'inflection point' for reining in Big Tech This comes at a time when healthcare providers are increasingly seeing symptoms of social media addiction among youth, says psychologist Mitch Prinstein , who is the Co-Director of the Winston Center on Technology and Brain Development at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
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