Responding to reports that Meta has reached a settlement of approximately $18 billion, with 47 US states and committed to specific safety-oriented design changes on its social media apps over claims that its platforms caused harms to children, Amnesty International USA’s Deputy Director of Research, Justin Mazzola, said:
“The settlement is a turning point not just for Meta, but all social media. Social media platforms must now change how they operate and fix their harmful features to protect children and young people.
“For years, Amnesty International, civil society and harmed individuals have
warned
that major social media platforms have been designed to maximize engagement and profit, while failing to adequately protect children’s rights.
“We welcome that Meta has proposed, in the settlement, to make changes to the design of its platforms, as we know addictive features of social media can drive harm to children online. But the changes stop short of a fully safe and rights-respecting platform. For instance, hyper personalized feeds, which Amnesty research has
demonstrated
can be extremely harmful for children, will remain switched on by default.
Amnesty International USA’s Deputy Director of Research, Justin Mazzola
“Amnesty has been calling for platform design change for many years. Child safety must be built into platforms from the start, not added as an afterthought once harms are identified. This settlement agreement sends a clear message that social media companies cannot ignore children’s wellbeing and rights and that design changes are the necessary solution. Now, they must continue on this path, taking further steps to fully redesign their apps for child-safety and to respect the rights of all users.”
Background
Meta reached an approximately $18 billion settlement with 47 states committing to make changes to its products, bringing to an end a landmark case in which the states alleged that the company’s addictive platforms we
… [more]
