Meta is facing a $590 million fine for allegedly exposing the personal information of kids.
👉 Background: The European Union is known for its strict data privacy laws, especially the one called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that came in four years ago.
👉 What happened: Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has decided to whack Meta with a fine worth more than $590 million!
👉 What else: Ireland says Instagram was making the accounts of kids aged 13-17 public by default…AND allowing aspiring kid-influencers with business accounts to make their phone numbers and email addresses public via their profiles.
💡Social media companies face a major tension between commercial objectives and social responsibilities. Commercially, Facebook and Instagram desperately needs to recruit new, younger users - because new users means growing its user base and ultimately increasing its profit.
💡But the challenge comes when this business objective has tangible, negative impacts on its young users’ lives. Remember when a whistleblower revealed that Facebook knew it was making body image issues worse for one in three teen girls?
💡This is part of the reason companies like Meta are facing increasing scrutiny for their policies around users under 18.
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