Meta’s $18 Billion Teen Safety Settlement Sets Global Precedent

Asean urged to take on Big Tech after Meta’s record payout

Calls are growing for Asean to collectively crack down on Big Tech platforms that spread scams and harmful content, spurred on by Meta Platforms’ landmark US$18 billion US settlement last week. Meta agreed on Wednesday to enact sweeping changes to Instagram and Facebook – including default time limits and content restrictions – as part of the settlement with several US states, which had alleged the platforms damaged children’s mental health. Within hours of the deal being announced, advocacy...

By Sam Beltran

Meta’s child safety deal can change social media’s impact on children’s mental health

By Amit Sen

The 'new' Mark Zuckerberg, his gothic Irish castle and Meta's $18bn social reckoning

Mark Zuckerberg has survived scandal after scandal, and Meta has now agreed to an $18bn settlement that keeps him out of the witness box. The landmark lawsuit accused Meta of deliberately designing addictive features that harmed children’s mental health. But will the deal force real change at the tech giant. Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Irish Independent Tech Editor Adrian Weckler, to examine Meta’s deal, Zuckerberg’s reinvention and why he has bought gothic an Irish castle.We want to earn yo...

Meta’s teen safety settlement changes argument for regulators everywhere

The genie is out of the bottle, and nobody in Silicon Valley knows how to put it back. For years, governments have struggled to keep pace with social media companies. Regulators wrote rules, launched investigations and demanded stronger safeguards, while children continued to spend hours on platforms designed to keep them scrolling. But now everything has changed.