Meta has agreed to a historic $18 billion settlement over children's safety concerns, promising sweeping changes to Instagram and Facebook. However, the effectiveness of proposed age-verification technologies remains questionable.

The new rules include limiting daily screen time for minors, blocking accounts overnight and muting notifications during school hours. Yet, as Dr. Alexis Ingber points out, 'The design changes are all reliant on effective age verification tech that isn’t particularly well-functioning.' The settlement highlights a classic debate: prioritizing safety over privacy.

Meta’s proposals include behavioral analysis and biometric checks to identify minors. But these methods can misjudge adults as children or vice versa, raising concerns about data privacy. Dr. Ingber argues, 'We need reliable age verification that respects user privacy.' Meanwhile, Discord’s recent backlash demonstrates public mistrust of such measures.

Philip Yannella suggests there are ways to verify age without storing personal information, but warns that even token-based systems carry potential risks. A breach could lead to identity theft, a risk that can’t be easily mitigated once leaked.

Meta now touts the settlement as proof of its commitment to children’s online safety, calling on TikTok and YouTube to follow suit. Yet, the implementation of these changes will depend on technology that many experts doubt can effectively and ethically distinguish between adults and minors.