Meta, the company led by Mark Zuckerberg, has reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit for damages to minors over the design of its social networks, the largest legal process in its history, in which it faced 29 state governments in the United States.
Through this consensus, the tech giant has committed to implementing a series of changes in the structure of its social networks. On both Facebook and Instagram, it must establish stricter usage limits for minors that cannot be turned off, nighttime blocks, or notifications disabled during school hours. Its impact, of which it was accused, is attributed to direct harm against minors in the country, something that is also reported in other territories such as Europe.
What does this payment of 17 billion dollars imply?
The announced amount is broken down into nearly 70%, equivalent to 12.7 billion dollars, which will be distributed among the 52 territories of the United States through annual payments over a decade. Meanwhile, the remaining 5.3 billion dollars will depend on TikTok and YouTube adopting certain protections and making the planned payments.
What was Meta accused of in US courts?
The company is accused of violating the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data from minors without parental consent. In turn, it was accused of misleading users by promoting the safety of its platforms while its executives were aware of the risks that its products posed.
It should be noted that these practices have caused anxiety, depression, and even led to cases of adolescent suicide in US territory linked to the use of social networks.
How does the design of Instagram and Facebook harm minors?
Specifically, these lawsuits indicate that Meta deliberately designed a highly addictive interface on its social networks to maximize user engagement time in order to monetize at the expense of their mental health. This design, as explained in the complaints, destroyed “stop signals” or natural breaks, causing adolescent consumption to become automatic and unregulated. Something that can be linked, for example, to a casino.
What mechanisms does the company use to hook teenagers?
Mainly, one of the best known is infinite scroll, which is a technique for the user to have continuous loading when scrolling down the page or, in this case, in the social network application, eliminating the need to switch to a different page or tab.
Another is automatic video playback (autoplay) and the sending of push notifications. It is relevant to mention that these external alerts were sent by mapping windows of emotional vulnerability, such as boredom, loneliness, or the fear of missing out (FOMO), to transform them into compulsive checks.
Another mention is that the system also operated under the principle of “variable rewards,” similar to slot machines, where the uncertainty of receiving a like or a message retains the user through dopamine spikes.
What measures and changes must Meta implement on its platforms?
The company committed to establishing an automatic daily usage limit of two hours for minors under 18. In addition to blocking access between midnight and six in the morning, unless they have parental consent. Silence notifications during school hours from 8:00 to 15:00 and nighttime notifications, hide the number of “likes” and reactions, and allow disabling recommendation algorithms to view a classic chronological feed (which is the main grid where shared posts are displayed) that only shows posts from followers.
How is this agreement linked to competitors like TikTok and YouTube?
Throughout the trial, Meta maintained that minors switch applications when only one is restricted, so they demanded a standard for other companies (TikTok and YouTube). This is where the 30% payment comes in, along with the tightening of measures such as reducing the daily limit to just one hour and extending the nighttime block from 22:00 to 7:00, which are conditional on TikTok and YouTube adopting these same restrictions and committing to pay, between the two, 5.3 billion dollars. Likewise, certain commitments that would initially last five years will be extended up to 10 if the other applications agree.
Will these measures reach Spain and the rest of Europe?
The scope of this agreement is limited to US territory and does not extend to Spain. However, the European Commission maintains proceedings against Meta after preliminarily concluding that elements such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications may infringe the Digital Services Act by encouraging excessive use. Furthermore, countries like Australia have already banned social media for minors under 16, a measure that Spain and France are also studying to implement.
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