The ruling in the US could help change legislation in other countries. Photograph: Ekaterina Goncharova; posed by model/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The ruling in the US could help change legislation in other countries. Photograph: Ekaterina Goncharova; posed by model/Getty Images First Edition newsletter Meta Friday briefing: Could Meta’s child‑safety settlement open the door to global reform? In today’s newsletter: The vast US payout may reshape teen safety online beyond the borders of America, but there are more lawsuits to come
Prefer the Guardian on Google Good morning. It was supposed to be Meta’s big tobacco moment, but the tech company’s share price barely flinched on Wednesday – and fluttered upwards, even – after it settled a landmark lawsuit. The case was brought by 29 US states who accused the company of harming children with addictive and dangerous products.
Against a rising tide of popular backlash, this legal action in the American courts pushed Meta to self-impose a level of regulation that Congress had repeatedly failed to, with a series of reforms now incoming to better protect children on Meta platforms. Some critics have argued the changes don’t go far enough .
Around the globe, and sometimes out of the media glare, Meta is facing a tranche of lawsuits. For today’s First Edition, we look to some of these others battles to hold the tech leviathan to account, with the Guardian’s global technology reporter Aisha Down. But first the headlines.
Nepal | The international community was scrambling to get aid into flood-stricken parts of Nepal and Tibet on Thursday as authorities warned that a lake formed at the site where the deadly torrents occurred was rising and at risk of bursting.
Russia | Russia has said it could retaliate against the UK for its support of Kyiv by striking military targets inside and outside Ukraine, amid reports that the director of the CIA warned the Kremlin against attacking Nato during a secretive visit this week.
UK news | Seven people charged with vandalising Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland have been accused of malicious damage “having a terrorist connection”.
Europe news | Ratko Mladić, the infamous Serbian general who was serving a life sentence for genocide committed during the Bosnian war, has died in prison in The Hague, a UN official and his lawyer confirmed.
Climate crisis | The only climate scientist teaching at West Point, the US army’s military academy, was fired after he resisted an order to stop teaching about the human causes of the climate emergency.
View image in fullscreen Abrham Meareg has been waiting four years for his case against Meta to be heard. He claims Facebook failed to act on posts inciting violence which led to the murder of his father. Photograph: Foxglove It looks to be a monumental moment. On Wednesday, Meta agreed to pay up to $18bn (£13.3bn) to a coalition of US states suing it over the harm Facebook and Instagram has caused young people. But more significantly, given the company’s trillion-dollar-plus valuation, Meta agreed to make changes to its platforms. The company is now framing this as a precedent for other social media companies to follow, calling on competitors like TikTok and YouTube to fall in line.
The changes largely apply to under 18s and crucially will be turned on by default, marking a major shift from the previous opt-in system for parental controls and teen safety features. These include a t…