Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 states that accused the tech giant of knowingly harming children through its platforms. The agreement resolves an ongoing federal trial and includes commitments from Meta to implement significant changes to its services for minors.
Parents who believe social media contributed to their children's deaths have voiced a range of emotions upon hearing of the settlement. "It feels like vindication," said Victoria Hinks, whose 16-year-old daughter, Owl, died by suicide in 2024. Hinks described how her daughter developed an intense addiction to Instagram and TikTok, leading the family to remove her bedroom door to prevent late-night scrolling. After Owl's death, Hinks found content related to eating disorders, depression, self-harm, and suicide on her phone, which she believes the platform's algorithms amplified.
Meta has agreed to introduce a two-hour daily time limit for minors, disable app access at night by default, suspend notifications during school hours, provide enhanced parental controls, and send teens usage reminders every 15 minutes. The company is also calling for industry-wide commitments from platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
However, for some parents, these measures do not fully address the pain of losing a child. Lori Schott, whose 18-year-old daughter Annalee died by suicide in November 2020 after years of using platforms like Instagram, stated, "I don’t think there are enough commas and zeros in this settlement figure — but that’s coming from me as a mom that has had over 2,000 days without my daughter." She recounted finding content on her daughter's phone that made Annalee feel inadequate, with messages like, "Nobody is going to love me unless I look the part. I look at other girls’ profiles and it makes me feel worse."
Schott expressed that the settlement felt like losing her daughter all over again, emphasizing that the implemented changes could have saved Annalee's life if they had been in place earlier. Matthew Bergman, an attorney and founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, described Meta's changes as "major steps in the right direction" but acknowledged that "there’s still a long way to go."
Erin Popolo lost her 17-year-old daughter, Emily, to suicide in January 2021, allegedly after being cyberbullied on Instagram and Snapchat. Popolo stated that attempts to report abusive posts about Emily to Instagram were unsuccessful. She characterized the settlement as bittersweet, noting, "It doesn’t bring back our children." Popolo believes Meta is "getting away with literal murder, if you ask me, at $18 billion."
Kathleen Spence, whose daughter Alexis filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2022, views the settlement as significant. "This settlement is beyond money — it’s power to the parents," she said. Her daughter, now 24, is pursuing a degree in applied behavior analysis to help other children navigate online complexities. Spence added, "Today is a day that we honor the memories of the children who have been lost or harmed because of social media."
Meta stated in a release, "All platforms should empower parents and support teens in these ways because we know that when teens are restricted on one app, they simply move to another. For meaningful progress to happen, we urge our peers to join us."
While this settlement concludes consolidated state cases, Meta still faces numerous private lawsuits from families of social media victims. New Mexico and Florida have not settled and have ongoing legal actions against the company. "We’re never going to stop fighting this way for our kids because we have nothing left to lose," Hinks stated.