Meta’s $18B child-safety deal hinges on age-verification tech that doesn’t work well
The historic settlement reignites ongoing concern around how age-verification technology puts privacy at risk.
AI Summary
Meta reached an $18 billion settlement with 52 attorneys general over child-safety allegations, though the payment is spread over 10 years and represents a small fraction of Meta's annual revenue. The settlement requires Meta to implement the most detailed child-safety rules on any major platform, but these rules depend on age-verification technology that remains unreliable and raises privacy concerns. Meta avoided admitting wrongdoing, preserving legal protections like Section 230 that shield platforms from liability for user-generated content.