Historic $17.1 Billion Settlement Shows Social Media Can Be Designed Differently

Today’s settlement between 47 states and Meta marks a considerable step toward greater corporate accountability for how social media platforms are designed and experienced by young people.

What the Settlement Could Change

The significance of this settlement extends beyond the $17.1 billion Meta must pay to states. Its terms require substantial changes to features and practices on Instagram and Facebook that can contribute to excessive or problematic use among young people. These include time limits, greater control over teens’ feeds, restrictions on use at night and during school hours, and options to hide likes. Meta must also make significant improvements to comply with existing privacy laws, including strengthening its methods for identifying children under 13 on its platforms.

Importantly, several of the changes address concerns that have emerged across the research on youth social media use, including excessive use, poor sleep, social comparison, and exposure to harmful content and experiences. They also reflect a growing recognition that how platforms are designed matters for young people’s experiences online.

Why Platform Design Matters

This lawsuit and settlement underscore an important point: The social media young people experience today is not inevitable. Platform interfaces and features are the result of design decisions, and different choices can create healthier digital environments for children and adolescents. The settlement reflects years of efforts by parents and families who sought greater accountability, as well as bold action by state attorneys general to address concerns about platform practices affecting young people. 

Why One Settlement Isn’t Enough

But this settlement should be a beginning, not an end. In the absence of comprehensive federal protections, litigation has become the primary mechanism for effecting change at scale. Without federal regulation, these changes apply only to Meta. They address only the practices covered by this settlement. And only for the next 10 years. They do not establish protections across platforms or address the full range of concerns facing children online.

As momentous as this settlement might be, protecting children in our rapidly changing digital world cannot depend on one settlement, one platform at a time. Our children need consistent, evidence-backed protections that reflect what the research tells us about child and adolescent development. Comprehensive federal policy can establish a stronger foundation across platforms that reduces risks while preserving technology’s potential to support creativity, connection, learning, and opportunity. Children deserve a digital world designed with their healthy development at its foundation.