Meta Facebooks The Music

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Happy Thursday, Future Party. If you plan to see A24’s Primetime — a thriller about To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen — on September 25, you may be surprised to see the most unlikely of ads in the pre-show: a spot for Hansen’s streaming network, TruBlu. That’s right, Hansen is advertising himself in front of a movie that will likely be critical of his infamous freewheeling approach to justice. He made sure to buy the ad space in front of every single screening of Primetime in the country. It might be the savviest marketing move of the year.

Meta settled a landmark case brought by 48 state attorneys general and four US territories, requiring the tech giant to pay states up to $18 billion and make major changes to how kids can engage with its apps.

The Big Picture: Meta lawyers have been spending a lot of time in court this year, losing or settling lawsuits brought by states, school districts, and individual plaintiffs over how the platform has addicted users. It’s a reckoning similar to the one the tobacco industry faced in the ’90s. And while Meta may be front and center, expect nearly every social-media platform to feel the heat.

Behind The Settlement: Meta settled just before CEO Mark Zuckerberg would need to take the stand to testify… so it’s safe to say the company didn’t want him to face the music.

Closing Thoughts: There’s a fascinating wrinkle to the settlement — Meta will only be required to pay 70% of the settlement if TikTok and YouTube don’t voluntarily agree to each also pay $5.3 billion to the states and adopt similar restrictions for underage users. TikTok and YouTube have yet to comment on that deal point, but Meta plans to make a big ad push to pressure them to follow suit — Meta doesn’t want to be the only platform with a hand tied behind its back.

Amazingly, Meta’s stock went up yesterday because analysts believed the company would have to settle for way more than it did, with penalties possibly surpassing $1 trillion. Did Meta actually get off easy?

Prediction: Don’t expect TikTok and YouTube to make those concessions voluntarily. Another lawsuit may be just around the corner.

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Bill Gates penned a 12-page manifesto warning that society is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to handle the changes coming in the AI era.

Why It Hits: Bill Gates is one of the most influential voices in tech and business. As nearly all of Silicon Valley evangelizes AI (with the curious exception of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei), Gates drawing a line in the sand should set off alarm bells for government officials… and inspire some policy ideas for regulating the tech.

Behind The Ideas: While Gates believes AI will make some major strides in energy, medicine, and agriculture, he thinks humans are in for a rough ride. WSJ has a breakdown of why the longtime tech leader feels that way.

Final Warning: Gates didn’t pull any punches when he wrote: “Even under the best circumstances, the transition to this new AI era will be one of the most turbulent times in human history” — a big vibe shift from his manifesto on AI in 2023. But he does offer some solutions.

That includes levying payroll taxes on AI systems or robots to economically disincentivize replacing workers and setting up a worker relief fund. He also said the government should designate some roles as “Human Reserved” — jobs where automation would displace too many workers who wouldn’t be able to find new work, or roles that people really don’t think robots should do. In other words, it’s a slow-drip quota on the full-AI replacement of some sectors.

Honestly, even those solutions sound chilling.

The Future: Considering his clout, Gates could become one of the most important voices for AI regulation in Washington.

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48.3% of you voted Yes, I did in yesterday’s poll: Did you take a vacation this summer?

“They were all US-based, though. It just felt more economical and safer, given our country’s tarnished reputation on the world stage.”

“Drove cross-country and back with my dog — Maryland to Nevada and back.”

“Spent a month in Europe as a family of four — Poland, Denmark, and Switzerland. The hidden gem was Engelberg-Brünni, Switzerland — a must-do if you have children under 10!”

“I had surgery, so, in essence, I stayed in bed for a couple of weeks. I guess that’s a vacation.”

“I’m on one now in the south of France.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

📺 Shonda Rhimes’ new overall deal with Netflix now encompasses merchandise and live events.

⚽ Sports streamer DAZN has acquired media tech firm EverPass as it plots an expansion into the US.

🎧 SoundCloud is letting musicians sell songs directly to fans on the platform… and the company won’t take a cut.

🤖 Hyundai CEO José Muñoz said the company is considering selling humanoid robots at its car dealerships.

⚕️ Fitbit founders James Park and Eric Friedman debuted a new device that can allegedly monitor a wearer’s physical and mental health without being connected to a smartphone.

🚗 Uber will now let parents check on their traveling kids via a live feed from their driver’s smartphone.

📱 Instagram is rolling out automated video editing with a new feature called “First Draft.”

🤳 A creator class-action lawsuit is suing Twitch for allegedly scraping content to train Amazon’s AI models without creators’ consent.

🍗 IShowSpeed wants you to eat some KFC ranch.