What smart people are saying about Meta’s settlement

Cohn, a First Amendment lawyer in Chicago, called the settlement a “shrewd business move, but awful for free speech.”

Cohn said that by calling on YouTube and TikTok to institute similar restrictions, Meta is “attempting regulatory capture” by setting a standard it hopes rival social media giants will follow.

Uttara Ananthakrishnan, an associate professor of information systems at the University of Washington, told Business Insider that she wouldn’t be surprised if YouTube and TikTok announce similar restrictions in the coming days.

Ananthakrishnan, who has authored several research papers about the addictive qualities of TikTok, said that while she welcomed the restrictions announced Wednesday, she doubts they’ll live up to expectations.

“Meta doesn’t have a great reputation of enforcing its own policies,” she said.

Ananthakrishnan pointed to a teen social media ban in Australia, which has largely failed to keep young users off the platforms, as a reason why it’s difficult for companies to verify checks.

“Enforcement is going to be really difficult,” she said. “A motivated, 16-year-old and 18-year-old will just adopt a VPN, log in from their parents’ accounts or whatever.”

Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, said Meta’s monetary payout was a big lowball.

“The $16 billion is a bit like monopoly money,” Turley wrote on X. “Meta succeeded in tying off the potential for massive damages while making changes that was already moving to incorporate in its platform.”

Turley added that although the settlement will lead to new protections for children on social media, they will ultimately not last.

“The technology is too popular and too accessible to create a true firewall,” Turley wrote. “The burden will remain with parents.”

Jason Kint, who leads Digital Content Next, a trade organization that represents digital media companies, said the case impacts an entire generation of children.

“Wow. $16 BILLION means Meta/Facebook/Instagram is now approaching $25 BILLION they’ve on settlements related to consumer protection abuses,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.

Marcus, a tech researcher, wrote on X that he hopes other social media platforms will follow suit with guardrails.

“I hope that X, TikTok, and YouTube will match these social media restrictions for teens, including ‘Productive Pauses,’ ‘Nighttime blocks,’ limited school-time access for children, tighter content controls, stronger and more straightforward parental controls, and limits on things like beauty filters and visible likes,” he wrote on Wednesday.

He added, “Adults (me included!) would be wise to opt-in for a lot of the same.”