In today’s Digest, we discuss a New Mexico judge ordering Meta to pay an additional USD$567m (£419.5m) over child safety issues, Burnham fast-tracking subscription trap crackdown as cost-of-living tour begins, and YouTube extending its shopping affiliate program to UK creators.
Meta hit with additional $567m child safety penalty
A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay an additional USD$567m (£419.5m) and strengthen safety features across its apps, ruling that the company constitutes a “public nuisance” due to the harm its platforms cause children. The decision, handed down Thursday in Santa Fe, brings total penalties in the case to USD$942m (£697.4m), adding to the USD$375m (£277.6m) a jury awarded in March. The underlying lawsuit, filed by New Mexico’s attorney-general in 2023, accused Meta of exposing children to sexually explicit content, solicitation, and human trafficking, and forms one of two major US court cases against the company reaching resolution this year.
Meta said it disagreed with the decision and plans to appeal, with a spokesperson stating the company works hard to keep users safe and remains confident in its record protecting teens online.
Burnham fast-tracks subscription trap crackdown
Andy Burnham has pledged to tackle “rip-off” subscription traps as part of a broader package of measures aimed at easing the cost-of-living crisis, ahead of a nationwide summer tour set to begin Monday.
The plans will accelerate existing rules requiring companies to make cancelling subscriptions easier and to disclose pricing information upfront, rather than allowing services to quietly auto-renew at higher rates. First announced in April under the previous government and originally due to take effect next spring, the changes will now come into force in January instead.
YouTube extends shopping affiliate program to UK creators
YouTube is expanding its in-app shopping push by bringing its shopping affiliate program to eligible creators in the UK, allowing them to tag products featured in their videos and earn commissions on resulting sales. The program, which launched in 2022 initially required creators to have more than 20,000 subscribers to qualify, but YouTube has steadily lowered that threshold over time, dropping it to just 500 subscribers as of March. UK creators will now gain access under similar terms, with YouTube stating that eligible creators can tag products from partner merchants including Wayfair, Currys, Debenhams, Boots, M&S, and Etsy directly within their videos, Shorts, and livestreams, earning revenue whenever fans complete a purchase on the retailer’s site.
————————————————
