The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Thursday (Aug 27) called on the entire social media industry to adopt child-safe design. The appeal, posted on the social network X, came one day after Meta agreed to restrict how minors use Facebook and Instagram in the United States as part of a multibillion-dollar settlement with US states, according to the AFP news agency.
"Children should not have to wait for a lawsuit to be filed to be safe online. Safe design needs to be applied across the industry. Governments need to take stronger action instead of waiting for courts and companies to do it," Türk wrote.
The settlement that prompted the statement ends a landmark case in California. According to AFP, Meta agreed to pay up to US$ 17.1 billion (about R$ 88 billion) to a coalition of states, closing lawsuits brought by 29 of them since 2023; a separate deal with Texas takes the total close to US$ 18 billion. Brazilian outlet G1 broke down the bill: US$ 11.7 billion in ten annual installments, plus US$ 5.3 billion that will only be paid if YouTube and TikTok accept similar terms, on top of US$ 75 million in legal costs and US$ 459 million to settle leftover claims from the Cambridge Analytica case. The accusations were serious: deliberately designing features that addict young people, misleading the public about the risks and illegally collecting data from children under 13.
What changes in the apps
"Safe design" is easier to grasp with an analogy: it is the difference between a playground with rounded edges and a rubber floor and a regular playground with a "be careful" sign at the gate. Rather than only warning about the risks, the app comes with the limits built in. Under the terms reported by G1, Meta will introduce daily time limits and mandatory breaks for children, notifications switched off during school hours and between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., stricter age verification, age-appropriate content controls, stronger parental controls and curbs on social comparison features such as like counts. An independent auditor will assess whether the measures work.
Follow the money
US$ 17 billion sounds huge, but it is a fraction of Meta's 2025 revenue of US$ 201 billion. The clause that ties US$ 5.3 billion to competitors signing on says a lot about the company's real incentive. In a business model that sells user attention to advertisers, giving in alone would mean handing teenagers (and their screen time) to TikTok and YouTube. By turning its obligation into an industry standard, Meta levels the field. The company confirmed the logic in a statement, saying it reached the deal to "establish a new industry standard" and encouraging rivals to adopt similar measures.
What we still do not know
Quite a lot. Alphabet (YouTube's owner) and TikTok have not commented, according to G1, and without them the UN appeal falls short. Türk's statement is also a political appeal with no legal force. And it is unclear when the restrictions take effect or whether any of them will reach users outside the United States.
For readers in Brazil, two things are worth watching. First, whether age verification and default-on limits arrive locally: the debate is already heating up, and the federal government sued Discord this week seeking R$ 500 million and child protection measures, according to G1. Second, until regulation arrives, the immediate step for parents remains the usual one: turn on the parental controls that already exist in the apps, rather than waiting for courts or companies to do it.