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    "headline": "Meta Settles for $18B to Verify User Ages Amid COPPA Legal Hurdles",
    "dek": "Meta agrees to an $18 billion settlement to improve age verification on its platforms while navigating strict US privacy laws.",
    "prose": "Meta Platforms agreed to an $18 billion legal settlement with US states to resolve claims that it designed social media platforms to addict children. [^1]\n\nThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 22 US states filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging that the company manipulated advertising prices since 2019. [^2]\n\nMeta must take extra steps for children below age 13, including searching the friend networks of the accounts of the youngest users to identify and eliminate them. [^3]\n\nThe Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) restricts companies from collecting personal data from children under 13 without parental consent, complicating effective age verification. [^4]\n\nThe settlement does not require Meta to take strict verification steps such as checking photo IDs or asking users to upload video selfies. [^5]\n\nAmazon has denied the accusations, stating that its pricing practices are transparent and compliant with laws. [^6]\n\nRegulators allege that Amazon secretly manipulated the prices advertisers pay to display ads on its platform. [^7]\n\nThe lawsuit claims that this manipulation has resulted in advertisers paying approximately $20 billion more than they should have since 2019. [^8]",
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