Meta money will help, but the social media struggle isn't over
From left, the attorneys general of California, New Jersey and Colorado. Their three states were among those involved in the Meta case. Credit: AP / Noah Berger
Meta's stunning agreement to pay up to $17.1 billion to settle claims that its business model endangered children is an acknowledgment that social media can cause harm to kids. This outcome will be even more significant if it spurs federal and state regulations that are diligently enforced.
In addition to the money, Meta will change its social media products, including Facebook and Instagram, to minimize addiction to minimize addiction risks to kids under 18. But the settlement doesn't bind other platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. None to date have said anything about voluntarily complying with the Meta settlement. The broader issue of how or whether social media can be made safe remains largely unanswered. Meta admitted no wrongdoing.
Numerous studies show that teens frequently use social media and spend hours a day every day online. Not everyone is susceptible to addictive features and not every aspect of social media is detrimental. A definitive cause-and-effect between social media use and mental health risks has yet to be proved, though there is a clear correlation. Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy called for warning labels on social media platforms, and the surgeon general's website says social media use for some children can be "excessive and problematic."
Too much time doomscrolling can lead to a host of issues for kids while exposing children to content parents find objectionable. The details of how Meta will change its products to comply with the settlement are squishy. Some safety features such as verifying the age of the user will be on Meta's watch. Others such as stopping the personalized algorithm, the core of doomscrolling, will require the user to actively switch to a less addictive chronological feed. That task will be on the parent. Even adults would benefit from being weaned off algorithm-fed feeds.
Meta cautioned that the settlement is essentially incomplete because it isn't an "industrywide solution." And there are thousands of similar lawsuits pending against a multitude of companies.
That is why federal regulations for the industry would be best — and there is bipartisan support for them. Australia has had good success with this approach. Yet little is emerging from Congress or the White House. Until then the burden falls on the states.
For New York State, which will receive up to $1.15 billion, the money will be used to "support mental health services, education programs, and other efforts to repair and reduce the harm caused by unhealthy social media use among young people," according to the state attorney general's office. That broad criteria begs for oversight and specific rules, such as ones on push notifications.
Keeping kids safe from social media addiction will require more than court settlements and new laws — it will take our collective attentiveness as a society. There are no quick fixes, like the settlement of one lawsuit, that guarantee success.
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