New Delhi. Social media company Meta has suffered a major setback in a case related to the safety of children and youth. A court in New Mexico, USA, has imposed a fine of $567 million, or approximately Rs 5,000 crore, on the company. The court acknowledged that Meta’s platform harmed children and youth and that the company must compensate for the resulting losses.
This case relates to the second phase of the ongoing lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook. A previous ruling against the company in March also came. The court cited the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in its decision.
What is the COPPA Act?
The US COPPA Act protects the online privacy of children under the age of 13. Under this law, strict regulations apply to companies regarding the collection of children’s personal information and tracking their online activities.
The amount will be spent on youth treatment and mental health.
In the ruling issued late Thursday night, Judge Brian Beadshaid stated that a significant portion of the fine will be spent on youth treatment and mental health services. Approximately $420 million will be allocated for these services. The remaining amount will be spent on awareness and prevention programs, screening services, and other related activities over the next five years.
A $375 million fine has already been imposed.
In the first phase of the case, the court imposed a $375 million civil penalty on Meta. According to the court, the company was aware that its platforms were negatively impacting children’s mental health. Furthermore, the company was accused of concealing information related to child sexual exploitation.
Call for Platform Changes
The prosecution has demanded several major changes to Meta’s platform. These include controlling features that keep users on the platform for extended periods, strengthening age verification, changing default privacy settings, and tightening monitoring to prevent child sexual exploitation.
The court also said that it would not be fair to place the responsibility of verifying the age of children solely on Meta, while other social media companies do not have such an obligation.