Terms of engagement

The terms of the settlement in what is being referred to as the “Meta child addiction case” include a clause that may trigger huge changes across social media. A coalition of the attorneys general of 48 states plus the District of Columbia and three United States (US) territories had taken Meta to court, accusing the social-media giant of knowingly harming young users. They referenced information in internal Meta documents, alleging Facebook and Instagram were built to keep teenagers engaged. They also claimed Meta misled the public about the harm, and collected minors’ data without parental consent. When the case came up in a Federal Court in Oakland, California, Meta negotiated a settlement, without admitting guilt. The court approved the settlement in which Meta may pay up to $18 billion. It will pay $11.7 billion to US states in 10 annual instalments. 

The rest of the payment is conditional. Meta agreed to implement many changes to protect teens. It will pay a further $5.3 billion only if TikTok, YouTube, and others agree to similar changes. It is likely other platforms will agree to such changes to avoid copycat lawsuits. And that is why this settlement could end up changing how social media works. All users must be age-checked within 12 months. An independent auditor must ensure no more than 10 per cent of 16-17-year-olds, and no more than 3 per cent of 13-15-year-olds are wrongly classified as adults. Parents are to be notified when a teen first messages an adult and if a teen searches for terms related to self-harm. Teen users (aged 13-17) will face a two-hour daily cap on the use of Facebook and Instagram combined. There will be enforced breaks at 60 minutes, and 90 minutes. Access will be blocked from midnight to 6 am. Notifications will be muted between 10 pm and 7 am, and during school hours. A parent can change these defaults. 

Autoplay for content will be turned off by default. “Like” counts will be hidden by default, and access to “cosmetic procedure filters” and extreme makeover filters will be blocked. Teens will be offered a choice of feeds with posts shown in chronological order, rather than those being chosen by algorithm. The design changes are to prevent addiction. The blocks on extreme filters and on “like” counts are because seeing “air-brushed” perfect portraits of peers, and receiving low likes, can trigger depression in youngsters. Blocks during school hours and parental supervision could be considered common sense. The most important change will be offering the choice of non-algorithmic feeds. Social media is about engagement. The longer a platform keeps a user scrolling, the better it can monetise that presence. All the business models are built around engagement. Hence, algorithms try to maximise engagement. Whether content is “clickbait” (catchy misleading headers) or “ragebait” (designed to make the user angry), the bait is designed to engage users. And, “engagement” may equal “addiction”, especially where young people are concerned. 

If Meta is forced to abandon the engagement-algorithm for its most committed users, and if other platforms follow suit, the industry will undergo a tectonic shift. Teen-usage of social media is a hot-button issue everywhere. France and Australia have attempted to force minors off through legislation but without asking for design changes. This settlement allows minors to access social media, and will force the industry to find new ways to generate revenue.