Meta settles teen safety claims for $17 billion; AMA adds AI ethics to its CME catalog; physicians disagree on pediatric pneumonia exams — Morning Medical Update

Meta settles teen safety claims for $17 billion

The proposed consent judgment sets default time limits and overnight blocks for users under 18.

Meta Platforms agreed to a proposed settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general over state claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to drive compulsive use by children and teens.

The deal calls for up to $17 billion over 10 years and remains subject to court approval. Trial began Aug. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Under the proposed judgment, users under 18 face a default two-hour daily time limit and a block on overnight use from midnight to 6 a.m., each liftable only by a parent. Notifications are blocked during the school day, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meta also agreed to hide like counts from teens, ban cosmetic procedure filters, offer a feed that is not algorithmically targeted and submit to an independent auditor. If rival platforms adopt similar terms, the daily limit falls to one hour.

California expects $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion. Meta put the total at $18 billion, a figure the Associated Press reported appears to include a separate Texas award. Meta did not admit wrongdoing.

AMA adds AI ethics to its CME catalog

Four case-based modules cover clinical decision-making, mortality prediction and ambient documentation.

The American Medical Association on Aug. 26 introduced the Ethical AI Use in Medicine Series, a continuing medical education program on applying artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical practice under the association’s Code of Medical Ethics.

The AMA developed the case-based curriculum with the Duke Institute for Health Innovation and the Health AI Partnership. It runs on AMA Ed Hub, the association’s online CME platform.

Four modules make up the series. A clinical practice toolkit covers evaluating, implementing and monitoring AI tools. A second puts learners in scenarios where AI informs care. Two decision simulators address AI mortality prediction and ambient AI scribes.

AMA President Willie Underwood III, M.D., said the association is committed to equipping physicians with “clear, practical ethics guidance.” The announcement does not state CME credit hours, cost or whether the modules are open to non-members.

Physicians disagree on pediatric pneumonia exam findings

Physicians examining the same pediatric patients often disagreed on crackles, rhonchi and decreased breath sounds.

Physicians examining the same child for pneumonia frequently disagreed on what they heard, according to a study published Aug. 20 in JAMA Network Open and led by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago through the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network.

Researchers enrolled 252 children ages 3 months to 17 years at seven pediatric emergency departments. Each was examined by two physicians within an hour, who recorded findings independently. Crackles, decreased breath sounds and rhonchi were not consistently recognized by both examiners. Wheezing and signs of increased work of breathing fared better but still fell short of the study’s threshold for strong agreement.

Two physicians “can examine the same child and come away with different findings,” said senior author Todd Florin, M.D. Guidelines have physicians diagnose pneumonia from symptoms and exam without routine chest imaging in healthy children treated at home, and about two-thirds of those with community-acquired pneumonia have side effects from antibiotics.

The study measured agreement between examiners rather than diagnostic accuracy, and it ran in emergency departments, so results may not extend to office practice.