Meta agrees to $235 million settlement in Oklahoma to add child safety limits on Facebook, Instagram
Meta Platforms will pay $17 billion in a settlement with most U.S. states, including Oklahoma, to implement safety measures for children on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to a $17 billion settlement with most U.S. states, including Oklahoma, to implement new safeguards aimed at protecting children on its social media platforms.
“Honestly, the internet is, and always has been, the wild, wild west,” said Jonathan Kimmitt, chief information security officer at Alias Cybersecurity.
The settlement includes a combined two-hour daily time limit for Facebook and Instagram, mandatory pauses after 15 minutes of continuous use, and nighttime blocks prohibiting access for children from midnight to 6 a.m.
“I’d expect we’re going to see daily time limits. We’re going to see reductions in time during school hours for certain parts of the population, i.e., children,” Kimmitt said.
Age verification measures will also be introduced, though Kimmitt acknowledged the challenges of implementing them effectively.
“Age verification as it relates to actually verifying is very difficult, and it will always be very difficult—so we do the best we can,” he said.
>> Video Below: Oklahoma to receive at least $235 million as part of landmark Meta settlement
The settlement also raises concerns about Meta’s handling of collected personal data.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement accusing the company of designing Instagram with addictive features, exposing young users to mental harms and misleading the public about platform safety.
“My biggest takeaway was the fact that they were collecting data, they were using information gathered by these programs for other things, and we don’t know what they were using that data for,” Kimmitt said.
He stressed the importance of parental involvement in educating children about social media and its influence.
“The job for a lot of people who are marketing these tools or building the programs is to get people to use them, and, unfortunately, children are vulnerable and influenced easily in some cases,” he said. “I take it personal as a father that my job is to protect my kids, and that means teaching them and working with them, and building that control into how they are thinking about it.”
Oklahoma will receive over $235 million from the settlement, with the potential for more if platforms like Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok agree to similar terms.
>> Video from 2023 below: AG Drummond files lawsuit against Meta
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