Meta is lobbying California lawmakers for amendments to child safety laws that would shield social media platforms from increased penalties in child harm cases if they activate default safety settings. This move comes amid hundreds of lawsuits accusing the company of failing to protect minors.
The proposed amendments could significantly reduce financial penalties for social media companies in numerous pending lawsuits alleging harm to minors, potentially altering the landscape of accountability for online child safety.
Meta is advocating for changes to California law that would provide social media companies with a shield against increased penalties in child harm lawsuits, provided they implement a suite of default child safety settings. This proposal comes as the company faces numerous legal challenges related to the safety of minors on its platforms.
The draft amendments, if adopted by lawmakers, would exempt platforms from heightened penalties if they enable features such as disabling autoplay, limiting the sharing of geolocation data, silencing nighttime notifications, restricting direct messages from unknown adults, and making minor profiles private. Additionally, to qualify for this safe harbor, companies would need to offer parental tools for screen time management, profile visibility control, and monitoring of online interactions.
This legislative effort is seen as a strategic move by Meta amidst ongoing product safety lawsuits and a global trend toward stricter regulations for social media platforms concerning child safety. A previous case in Los Angeles resulted in Meta and Google being ordered to pay $6 million in damages after a jury found them liable for fostering youth harms like addiction, depression, and suicidality through their platforms.
Representatives for Meta and Umberg declined to comment on the proposed amendments.