Meta Fined $375M for Child Safety Claims, Promises to Update Terms of Service Font Size

Meta Platforms agreed to pay $375 million in fines to Australian regulators Tuesday after investigators determined the company’s child safety claims were undermined by terms of service written in 8-point Calibri font. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found that while Meta prominently advertised “industry-leading protections for minors” in 24-point bold text across billboards and television commercials, the actual safety limitations were detailed exclusively in subsection 47.3.2(c) of the user agreement, requiring a magnifying glass to read on most devices.

The investigation began after Melbourne parent Sarah Mitchell filed a complaint when she discovered her 12-year-old daughter had been exposed to inappropriate content despite Meta’s public safety assurances. Commission officials spent six months analyzing Meta’s documentation practices, ultimately concluding that the company had systematically relegated crucial safety disclaimers to microscopic print while amplifying marketing claims in increasingly large fonts. “We found that Meta’s font size directly correlated with the likelihood of the statement being true,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Rebecca Thompson.

Meta’s proposed settlement includes upgrading all terms of service text to a minimum 12-point font, though the company has requested permission to maintain certain “technical specifications” in 6-point text for space considerations. Internal documents revealed that Meta’s legal team had conducted extensive research on optimal font sizes for avoiding user comprehension, with one memo suggesting that anything below 7-point font achieved “functional invisibility” on mobile devices. The company’s new Chief Transparency Officer will oversee font standardization across all 847 pages of Meta’s current user agreement.

Australian regulators expect the settlement to serve as a precedent for technology companies worldwide, though legal experts note that font size regulations remain largely unenforceable across international jurisdictions. The fine represents less than 0.3% of Meta’s quarterly revenue, leading some consumer advocates to question whether the penalty will meaningfully impact corporate behavior. At press time, Meta had announced plans to comply with the ruling by converting all terms of service documents to audio format, played at 0.75x speed during the account creation process.