Meta Agrees to Pay $16.7 Billion to Settle U.S. Lawsuits Over Youth SNS Addiction

[Anchor]

Meta, the world's largest social media company, has agreed to pay 23 trillion won to settle lawsuits in the United States alleging that it deliberately induced youth addiction to social media. The company has also introduced stringent measures limiting teenagers' daily social media use to two hours.

Reporting from New York, this is Correspondent Kim Hyunwoo.

[Reporter]

State governments across 47 U.S. states, including California, filed lawsuits against Meta—the operator of Facebook and Instagram—in 2023, accusing the company of designing algorithms that addict teenagers to social media while concealing the associated risks.

On the 26th local time, following three years of litigation, Meta agreed to pay up to $16.7 billion, approximately 23.1 trillion Korean won.

Parents whose children took their own lives due to the impact of social media have spearheaded the efforts to raise this issue.

[Victoria Hinks / Victim's Mother : I stand here hoping that my daughter's short 16 years of life were not in vain. It feels like proper action has finally been taken today.]

The settlement also includes enhanced youth protection measures.

Moving forward, teenagers will be limited to using Facebook and Instagram for up to two hours a day, and access to social media will be completely blocked during late-night hours.

For youth accounts, the artificial intelligence-driven continuous content recommendation feature will be disabled, and reactions such as "likes" on posts will be hidden.

Additionally, the use of photo filters that simulate plastic surgery or makeup will be blocked, minimizing elements that could have a negative impact on mental health.

[Rob Bonta / California Attorney General : This settlement is a massive achievement and a historic turning point. We have no more time to waste in protecting our children's mental health.]

Meta urged other companies, including YouTube and TikTok, to join in youth protection efforts.

This settlement, set to be implemented in the United States, is more robust than Meta's youth protection policies currently applied in South Korea, drawing keen attention to whether this agreement will influence policies in other countries as well.

(Camera filming: Lee Hee-hoon, Video editing: Cho Moo-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.