tech
Harry and Meghan accuse Meta of paying £13bn to avoid 'accountability'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex condemned the Facebook and Instagram owner for the 'data-extraction business model Meta has used on our children and all users for years'.
TL;DR
- Prince Harry and Meghan criticized Meta for paying up to $17.1 billion (approximately £13 billion) to settle child harm lawsuits, accusing the company of using a 'data-extraction business model' that harms children and users.
- Meta's settlement includes major new protections for teenage users on Facebook and Instagram, such as default night-time blocking, muting notifications during school hours, hiding like counts, and banning extreme beauty filters.
- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex view the settlement as a positive step for online safety advocates and called for industry-wide change, urging rival platforms like YouTube and TikTok to implement similar measures.
- Meta stated that its new protections for teenagers are contingent on other social media platforms joining in, proposing that YouTube and TikTok pay a similar sum and implement specific usage limits and age-assurance measures.
- The settlement resolves claims by 47 US states accusing Meta of designing addictive features on Instagram that harm the mental health of children and teenagers.
- The settlement, one of the largest in US state consumer protection history, will be paid in installments over ten years, with a portion contingent on rivals' actions.