Kentucky is set to receive $358 million from the largest “big tech” settlement in history.
On Wednesday, August 26, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced a proposed $17.1 billion settlement with Meta, the parent company to social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. The settlement is one of the largest state consumer protection settlements in the country’s history, comparable to the Big Tobacco settlements of the 1990s.
Kentucky was one of four states that lead efforts to make social media safer for kids. The other states that joined Kentucky were Colorado, California and New Jersey.
The settlement comes just one week into a trial that was expected to last six to eight weeks.
In addition to the large payout, Meta has also agreed to begin using new safety features to protect children on their platforms.
The immediate changes include:
Time limits and “Productive Pauses”
Limited school-time access for children, eliminating push notifications on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the school year.
Robust age assurance to better verify the ages of young users
Bullying safeguards and protection against content related to suicide and self-harm
Stronger, more user-friendly parental controls.
Most of the changes listed are set to remain in place for at least a decade and are to be monitored and assessed by an auditor and the states that settled, including Kentucky.
Kentucky will also receive nearly $7.5 million from Meta to settle its investigation regarding Cambridge Analytica. Leading up to the 2016 election, it was revealed Meta shared nonpublic information about its users with third parties like the political consulting and data analytics firm.
Source: WBKO
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