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Meta Platforms, Inc. will pay $17.1 billion and implement sweeping child-safety reforms on Instagram and Facebook under a multistate settlement, announced by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson Wednesday.
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South Carolina will receive $246,976,186 from the agreement, which resolves claims brought by 47 states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories, according to a news release.
Attorneys general around the country alleged that Meta designed Instagram with addictive features, knowingly exposed young users to mental-health harms and misled the public about the safety of its platforms, the release said.
In addition to the payout, the settlement requires Meta to establish a combined two-hour daily limit for children using Instagram and Facebook, with mandatory breaks after 15 minutes of continuous use and again at 60 and 90 minutes, according to the release.
The platforms also must restrict overnight access from midnight to 6 a.m., eliminate weekday push notifications during school hours and strengthen age-verification measures, the release said.
Meta must also introduce stricter controls on bullying, eating-disorder content, suicide and self-harm material, as well as stronger parental controls, according to the release.
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The company will face limits on features such as beauty filters and visible “like” counts, which states say can contribute to unhealthy social comparison among children and teens.
An independent auditor and the impacted states will regularly assess the reforms, the release said.
“As a dad to two teenagers who’ve grown up in the digital age, protecting children from Big Tech is personal to me,” Wilson said in the release. “This settlement doesn’t undo the damage that has been caused, but it’s a strong step in preventing the harms caused by social media to future generations of young people.”
The agreement also resolves state claims involving Meta’s sharing of nonpublic Facebook user information with third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, before the 2016 election, according to the release.
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