Meta Shifts the Blame + Do Data Center Bans Work? + The Final HatGPT

This week, Kevin Roose and Casey Newton delve into Meta's massive $17.1 billion settlement over child safety violations and the ongoing debate surrounding data center bans and their impact on AI progress. They are joined by Princeton computer scientist Arvind Narayanan, who offers a surprising perspective on the efficacy of these bans.

Meta's Historic Child Safety Settlement

Meta has agreed to a monumental $17.1 billion settlement with 47 states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories regarding child safety violations. This marks the largest settlement Meta has ever agreed to and one of the biggest in tech history. Casey Newton, who has been following the case since its filing in 2023, initially found the case less than compelling. However, an unredacted version of the lawsuit revealed "tons and tons of evidence that Meta absolutely knew that millions of kids under 13 were using the platform, they were not asking for their parents' permission." This evidence, Newton states, led him to believe the attorneys general had Meta "dead to rights."

The settlement addresses two primary sets of issues. First, a straightforward violation of a law prohibiting companies like Meta from collecting information about children under 13 without parental consent. Second, the settlement targets "addictive features" designed to maximize user engagement, such as push notifications at all hours and ranking algorithms that prioritize enticing material. As part of the agreement, Meta will implement several changes:

• A default two-hour daily time limit across Facebook and Instagram.
• A default block on app usage between midnight and 6 AM.
• Muting push notifications between 8 AM and 3 PM.
• Hiding like counts on Instagram posts by default.
• Disabling "extreme makeup filters."

Kevin Roose notes that these are not "cosmetic tweaks" but will result in a "much different experience for a teenage user." Casey Newton emphasizes that while these changes are significant, they are also a response to a growing global trend of democracies banning these apps for teenagers altogether. He views the settlement as a form of "harm reduction" and a testament to the effectiveness of regulators and lawmakers.