How responsible are social media companies for the highly obsessive use of their products in the wild? Well, up until now, that wasn’t an area where we had much clarity. But as social media use begins to have a greater, more measurable impact on the population, and especially on kids—it feels like we’re about to have more and more transparency. We’ve seen a spate of recent “Social Media Addiction” cases pop up in the zeitgeist. And most recently, Meta settled against Social Media Addiction claims brought by 48 states, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta taking the lead. Meta agreed to pay as much as $18 billion and will impose stricter limits on Instagram and Facebook for users under 18. Here is the result of this latest Social Media Addiction case.
On the premise that social media is currently dangerous for kids, a bipartisan group of state attorneys brought claims against Meta. These claims have resulted in the $18 billion settlement, which will be paid by Meta over 10 years and used by the states to address social media addiction in kids and teens and other mental health issues.
Additionally, the settlement includes an agreement by Meta to implement new limits on kids’ use of Instagram and Facebook for at least five years. For users under 18, this includes: a strict two-hour time limit that can only be turned off with a parent’s permission; A default night mode which makes the apps inaccessible between midnight and 6 a.m.; a School Mode, which blocks notifications during school hours; the apps will also add additional features meant to offer parents more control and the ability to limit overuse by kids and teens.
Meta Chief Legal Affairs Officer C.J. Mahoney said in a statement: “I’m pleased to announce that Meta has reached an agreement with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general from around the country on a new set of rules governing teens’ use of social media. The framework we’ve negotiated will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms. Our new Time Limit commitments, Night Mode features and usage limits during school hours set the right path forward for our whole industry, but this framework will only work if all our peers join us. Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution.”
Meta, however, is insistent that TikTok and YouTube ought to join these efforts as well in order for them to be fruitful. Mahoney notes, “We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework, right away. As a parent, I’m proud of both the work Meta has done to protect kids historically, and of this new groundbreaking agreement. But its success depends on all other social media platforms following Meta’s lead.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General Rob Bonta said in his own statement: “Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families. Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms—and will do it within months. We are talking about time limits, stopping notifications during school, a block on the app during critical overnight hours, bans on plastic surgery filters, and so much more. Alongside a bipartisan coalition of my colleagues, I am proud to deliver this settlement that addresses the concerns at the core of our lawsuit and institutes real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children on Facebook and Instagram — right now, no more waiting.”
Can we put the genie of social media back in the bottle? It doesn’t seem possible. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t even try to implement limits and protections around it. Hopefully, this case is only the first of many steps taken to ensure that social media use is a positive part of our society.