Cheap? Imagine what ti could have cost.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/meta-settles-with-us-states-over-social-media-harms-2026-08-26/

Meta reaches $16.68 billion settlement over social media harms to children

Meta Platforms, agreed to pay a maximum $16.68 billion as part of a settlement to resolve claims brought by states across the country that the company designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children, misled consumers about their safety, and improperly collected personal data of children ‌who used its platforms, court papers show.

The settlement was reached during a California federal trial over claims brought by 29 states, averting one of the highest-profile tests yet of allegations that social media companies harmed young users.

Meta also agreed to make changes for teenage users of Facebook and Instagram nationwide, including daily usage limits and nighttime blocks, court papers show.

(Related) With a bit more detail…

https://about.fb.com/news/2026/08/agreement-with-state-attorneys-general-supporting-teens/

Our Agreement With Bipartisan Attorneys General: Calling on TikTok and YouTube to Join Us in Supporting Teens

… Pending judicial approval, in participating US states and territories, these protections and controls will automatically apply to under-18s on Instagram and Facebook. The majority of the terms are required to remain in place for 10 years.

Sure looks like a war…

https://thenextweb.com/news/bitkom-german-firms-foreign-intelligence-cyber

87% of German companies were attacked last year, and Russia has caught up with China

Some 87% of German companies were hit by data theft, espionage, or sabotage in the past twelve months, up from 81% a year earlier, according to the industry association Bitkom, which puts the resulting damage at €289.2bn.

What is new in this year’s report is not the trend but the method, because Bitkom has combined its company survey with assessments from Germany’s domestic intelligence service, in a country where public sector defences have been under sustained pressure.

… The attribution finding is the one worth pausing on. Russia and China are each blamed for 46% of externally attributed incidents, with Russia climbing from 39% the previous year to draw level with China.

Russia overtaking its own prior figure by seven points in a single year is a substantial move in a dataset this size. It also fits a broader European pattern of Russian activity shifting from espionage towards disruption, which Dutch authorities have documented while seizing 800 servers tied to Russian hacking operations.