Technology, AI & Cyber
Meta settlement: UN urges child-safe social media
The United Nations urged governments and social media companies to require child-safe design across the industry after Meta agreed to pay US states as much as $16.7 billion and impose limits on teen use of Facebook and Instagram.
A Wednesday court filing set out the agreement, which would end a landmark trial in California. The proposed settlement still requires court approval.
The deal would resolve claims by 29 states that Meta deliberately designed its platforms to hook young users, misled the public about the risks and unlawfully collected data from children under 13. Meta has denied the allegations, and the filing says the agreement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing.
Some 51 states and territories, plus Washington, DC, initially settled with Meta. Texas reached a separate agreement with the company, increasing the total payout to around $18 billion.
“Children should not have to wait for a lawsuit to be safe online,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said on X. He said the design changes Meta agreed to make were in line with what his office had sought, but added that governments should act rather than wait for courts and companies.
The UN rights office has called for stronger government and industry measures to protect children online through safer design, data protection, regulation, oversight and accountability. Turk has said age restrictions alone would not change designs and algorithms that made platforms unsafe, and warned that bans can be bypassed or push children towards riskier, less monitored platforms.
UN rights office guidelines issued earlier this year called for maximum protection of children's data by default and said commercial micro-targeting of children should not be permitted. The guidelines said concerns such as AI chatbot restrictions or addictive design features may warrant age restrictions, with independent oversight, deterrent legal consequences and access to remedies for children whose rights are violated.
The proposed safeguards in the Meta deal would default teen accounts into overnight limits on Facebook and Instagram, cap cumulative daily use across Meta apps, offer teenagers a non-personalised feed, hide like counts by default and bar cosmetic surgery filters. Meta would also have to deploy an age assurance system and respond within six hours to at least 90% of teen reports of illegal or offensive content filed in English or Spanish.
An independent auditor, chosen jointly by Meta and a committee of states and paid for by the company, would monitor compliance for 10 years. Meta still faces thousands of personal injury claims and litigation from US school districts, which the proposed settlement does not cover.
Update
UN rights chief Volker Turk said on X that children should not have to wait for lawsuits to be safe online.
Turk said Meta's agreed design changes aligned with UN rights office calls but that safe design should apply across the industry.
Texas reached a separate agreement with Meta, increasing the total payout to around $18 billion.
The UN rights office guidelines call for maximum protection of children's data by default and say commercial micro-targeting of children should not be permitted.
The guidelines say some emerging concerns, including AI chatbot restrictions or addictive design features, may warrant age restrictions.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 August 2026 at 15:29:56 UTC.
Update
The United Nations urged child-safe design across all social media after the Meta settlement.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 August 2026 at 14:39:15 UTC.
Update
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said states have had communications with TikTok about their separate lawsuit and have also spoken with other companies in the industry.
Bonta said he expected the Meta settlement to be implemented over the coming months.
Bonta said states could seek to hold Meta in contempt of court if it violates the settlement terms.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez called for Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube to enter similar settlements.
Experts cited in the item said the settlement could set a precedent for more legal settlements and product changes in the social media industry.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 August 2026 at 22:06:31 UTC.
Update
The agreement was signed by 51 US states and territories.
The safeguards will apply only to teenagers in the signatory states and will have no international effect.
Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she expected to approve the agreement “pretty shortly.”
Cornell University law professor James Grimmelmann said the settlement could help Meta limit exposure while other lawsuits continue.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 August 2026 at 18:51:15 UTC.
Update
The proposed settlement would resolve claims by 29 states that Meta deliberately engineered its platforms to hook young users, misled the public about risks and unlawfully collected data from children under 13.
The filing says the agreement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Meta, which has denied the allegations.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Meta had agreed to make changes that would reduce risks from its platforms within months.
Meta chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney called on TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same framework.
California is due $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion over the decade, followed by New York with up to $1.13 billion.
The settlement would end a California trial in its second week if approved.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri testified that he promoted teen safety tools without disclosing low early adoption rates, and other witnesses testified that Meta knew some tools were ineffective.
Meta still faces thousands of personal injury claims and litigation from school districts in the United States that the agreement does not cover.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 August 2026 at 16:19:19 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The proposed settlement still requires court approval.
Parts of the settlement depend on whether TikTok, YouTube and Snap take comparable action.
Source
AFP news report published on .