YouTube chief declines to join Meta's multistate child-safety settlement
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said the platform will not participate in Meta's $18 billion child-safety settlement, arguing its own safeguards are sufficient.
During a press gathering at YouTube's annual Made on YouTube conference, CEO Neal Mohan rejected the idea of the video-sharing service joining Meta's recently announced multistate child-safety settlement. He emphasized that YouTube has long invested in measures to keep young users safe, including parental controls for Shorts and consultations with independent experts. Meta's $18 billion settlement with several states proposes limits on teenage usage, removal of like counts for teen accounts, and independent oversight, and it conditions a lower payment on contributions from platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta indicated that states may pursue legal action against platforms that decline to participate. While TikTok has not responded publicly, Mohan stressed that YouTube's platform differs from Meta's and that it continues to expand content consumption on television screens. Both YouTube and Meta are also appealing a recent court ruling that found them liable for designing addictive features that harmed a young woman.
Why it matters
The decision shapes how major tech firms address child safety and could influence future regulatory actions.
How this story developed
- Sep 7 Estonia urges EU to make platforms protect children rather than impose a ban
- Sep 10 Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of California laws that impose penalties on social-media firms, ban addictive feeds for under-16s and require risk assessments for AI chatbots.
- Sep 11 Newsom signed 13 technology bills, adding Adam's Law to the earlier child‑protection package.
- Sep 11 President Nicușor Dan will attend the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland on September 13-14, 2026, alongside leaders from Germany, Poland, Denmark and EU officials.
- Sep 13 Macron’s written request to von der Leyen for a Europe‑wide legal instrument has entered the debate.
- Sep 14 The summit is being held in Rovaniemi, Finland.
- Sep 14 Bucharest will host an upcoming Eastern Flank summit.
- Sep 14 France plans to forward the amended draft to the European Commission on Monday.
- Sep 15 Leaders issued a joint declaration urging the EU to adopt a stronger, better‑funded Arctic strategy.
- Sep 16 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the draft EU Kids Act.
- Sep 18 The draft adds a default one‑hour daily limit for parent‑supervised mini‑profiles, mandates an audit of existing accounts within six months, and sets fines of up to 6 % of worldwide sales for non‑compliance.
In this story
Related stories
19 in this thread