Reaction to Meta settling social media addiction lawsuit against them
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - In a surprise move, Meta, the company who owns social media giants Facebook and Instagram, agreed to settle a lawsuit over allegations its platforms are intentionally addictive.
The company is denying wrongdoing, but promising big changes for teen users, and is now urging other social media sites to take similar steps.
Major changes coming for teens logging in online Thursday morning after Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed to settle a social media addiction lawsuit.
California mother Victoria Hinks has been among those pressing for change since her 16-year-old daughter Alexandra died by suicide, which Hinks believes largely because of social media.
"I don't want her short 16 years to be in vain. And I felt like today was finally something was done," Hinks expressed.
Meta will now pay $18 billion to fund youth online safety measures after 29 states, including Arizona and California, filed suit, alleging the company's social media apps were designed to be addictive, harming teens' mental health.
"And that the company knew about these dangers and lied to teens, to parents and to the public," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Meta denied the allegations, but agreed to a series of new controls, including two-hour daily limits and blocks on nighttime use for teens, as well as strengthened steps to verify a user's age, and hiding things like 'Like' counts and extreme beauty filters.
Meta is now urging other sites like TikTok and YouTube to do the same, promising to pay a final portion of the settlement only if the others follow suit.
"Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution," said CJ Mahoney, Chief Legal Officer at Meta.
Attorneys general across the country are promising to keep up the fight as heartbroken families keep pushing for federal legislation and lasting change.
Attorneys general in several states have already begun litigation against TikTok and YouTube, accusing them of similarly addictive features.
"We are happy to talk to TikTok and Snap and Google about this. We're also happy to take them to court," said North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson.
NBC News reached out to those companies for comment about any potential coming changes, but we've not yet heard back.
