Meta has reached a landmark $18 billion settlement to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging it contributed to a teen mental health crisis, but a significant condition remains: rivals TikTok and Google-owned YouTube must adopt comparable safety changes to their platforms. Without this, Meta will not pay the full settlement amount.
Initially, Meta is responsible for 70% of the settlement, approximately $12.7 billion. The remaining 30%, totaling $5.3 billion, will be released only if TikTok and YouTube collectively agree to implement changes that include a one-hour daily usage limit for minors, a "night mode" to restrict use during bedtime hours, and age verification processes. Meta publicly called for its competitors' participation in an open letter, stating that these protections "will only be truly effective if we work with our peers — TikTok and YouTube — to put the same measures in place."
Neither TikTok, which recently settled a separate children's privacy lawsuit with the Justice Department for $400 million, nor YouTube had responded to Meta's public appeal as of Wednesday afternoon. The $18 billion settlement was announced shortly after a trial began, during which a coalition of state attorneys general accused Meta of prioritizing profits by encouraging teen addiction to social media and disregarding associated harms such as anxiety, depression, and suicide.
While online safety advocates generally praised the settlement terms, some raised concerns about specific aspects. These included the $5.3 billion clause conditional on rival platforms' actions, the absence of measures targeting Meta's recommendation algorithms, and the settlement's 10-year expiration date. Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, expressed that the settlement does not go far enough to create a safer internet, stating, "The fact that Meta doesn’t have to pay the full penalty unless its corporate rivals follow suit underscores that this settlement is not nearly enough to create a safer, less addictive internet." Golin also noted Meta's past lobbying efforts against the Kids Online Safety Act, a pending bill that would establish a legal duty of care for online platforms to protect children. "If Meta really cares about industry wide standards, they shouldn’t have spent the last 4 years lobbying against the Kids Online Safety Act," he added.
Following Meta's settlement, several state attorneys general have begun urging Meta's competitors to adopt similar safety measures. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued a statement directed at TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, asserting, "To TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat — our expectations are clear. You’re next."
