Will safety risks for kids persist on Facebook, Instagram in India? Here's what we know about Meta’s teen protections
Meta Platforms’ changes to Instagram and Facebook, part of a series of landmark settlements to resolve claims that the social media networks are a safety risk to children, will apply only to US users for now.
Meta’s new protections for young Facebook and Instagram users will initially cover only Americans, Bloomberg reported. The measures form part of settlements concerning alleged safety risks to children.Meta could pay over $18 billion in combined settlements. Its new rules will limit younger users’ daily time on both platforms. They will also restrict attempts to disable important safety settings.However, Meta has not announced any similar safeguards for children in India yet.
The company has not provided any timetable for extending these protections here. Meta will monitor the American changes, according to a company spokesperson.Governments worldwide are examining the possible impact of social media on children. Over two dozen countries have introduced or are considering restrictions.Britain plans to prohibit social media use among children below 16. It has also proposed night-time restrictions for older teenagers.British minister Pat McFadden said American children should not receive better protection.“
It’s interesting they chose to settle yesterday rather than to continue to fight this. This is a huge issue for parents in this country and governments around the world as to how to regulate this,” McFadden told the BBC.“ We don’t want a situation where children in the US have got a higher level of protection than children here,” he added.Meta's landmark settlementMeta reached a landmark settlement on 26 August covering 47 states and several US territories.
The owner of Facebook and Instagram could pay up to $17.1 billion in penalties. It must also introduce major protections for younger users.The states accused Meta of violating child privacy and consumer protection laws. They claimed that its platforms had used addictive features that endangered children.Meta agreed to limit teenagers’ daily usage and restrict features linked with mental health concerns. Notifications may be stopped during school hours and at night.
Teenagers will also receive prompts encouraging them to take regular breaks.The agreement ended a federal trial in Oakland. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey sought nearly $200 billion. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved the settlement.“ The focus of this case was to protect our kids: stopping notifications and alerts at night and when they are in school, encouraging them to take breaks from social media, protecting them against harmful features,” the New York Times quoted Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser as saying in a statement.Meta separately settled similar allegations in Texas for about $1 billion.
However, the company still faces lawsuits from school districts and individuals. Some cases are expected to reach trial during the coming months.