Meta has agreed to a $17 billion settlement with California and 28 other US states, ending a major lawsuit alleging the company deliberately designed addictive features in Instagram and Facebook that harmed young users' mental health. The lawsuit accused Meta of contributing to anxiety, depression, and suicide among teenagers by creating products that hooked them.

As part of the settlement, Meta will implement significant changes to its apps, including making safety features such as daily usage limits and night-time blocks the default settings for accounts created by teenagers across the United States. This marks a shift from Meta's previous opt-in approach to child safety.

Meta's chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, emphasized the need for broader industry action, stating, “Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution. We therefore call on our industry peers … to implement this new framework.”

However, some critics remain cautious. Arturo Béjar, a former Facebook employee and whistleblower, said the settlement “is not an all-clear to say the product is safe,” comparing the limitations to allowing unrestricted cigarette smoking for limited hours, which does not make cigarettes safer.

The settlement requires Meta to pay up to $18 billion, though the agreed figure reported by NPR is $17 billion. Meta denies any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.

This settlement could set a precedent for other social media companies like YouTube, TikTok, and Snap, which face numerous similar lawsuits across the US.

Separately, a natural disaster occurred in Nepal’s Langtang national park, where a large glacier section broke off and crashed into the valley floor near Kathmandu, close to the Nepal-Tibet border.

Sources