{"692138":{"#nid":"692138","#data":{"type":"news","title":"What Meta\u0027s Settlement Means, and What It Doesn\u2019t, According to Georgia Tech Experts ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will pay $17.1 billion and implement new protections to reduce the harmful effects of social media on young people, settling a lawsuit alleging that the social media giant violated consumer protection laws and targeted teenagers through its addictive features.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe resolution to the 2023 lawsuit imposes daily time limits on platform use for users under 18, silences notifications during school hours, restricts image filters, and adds safety measures, including removing users under 13 and stricter enforcement of teenager-specific settings for users under 18, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/news\/press-releases\/attorney-general-bonta-secures-transformative-17-billion-settlement-meta\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eamong other measures\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore Work To Be Done\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe settlement has been celebrated by the 47 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/law.georgia.gov\/press-releases\/2026-08-26\/carr-announces-largest-big-tech-settlement-history\u0022\u003Eattorneys general\u003C\/a\u003E of the represented states as a transformative moment in the oversight of social media. While she believes it is a step in the right direction, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/expert\/munmun-de-choudhury-social-and-computer-science-expert\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMunmun De Choudhury\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing, says the work cannot stop with the changes proposed in the settlement.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDe Choudhury\u2019s research has pioneered the computational use of social media data for mental health. In 2023, she co-authored a consensus report for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the connection between \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nationalacademies.org\/read\/27396\/chapter\/1\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Esocial media and adolescent health\u003C\/a\u003E. Several of the recommendations in the report are reflected in the Meta settlement, but De Choudhury sees areas that still need to be addressed at the root of social media\u2019s effects on mental health.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think it\u0027s a reasonable start. It was necessary, but if you look at the research literature, whether restricting screen time actually improves mental health is not a settled question,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to look at the context, which means not just how much time they\u0027re spending on these platforms but also how they\u0027re spending that time.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe $17 billion will be distributed among the states and territories involved in the lawsuit, and, according to De Choudhury, the funds will be a critical part of the settlement achieving its intended outcomes.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe grassroots portion of this is asking: How do we empower young people and their families with information so that they can make the right decisions for themselves? This money can be used to provide social media literacy efforts and to train parents and teachers to better guide kids. We often hear that adults want to help, but parents and teachers didn\u2019t grow up in the social media era, and given how fast it changes, they don\u2019t always have the right answers,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGetting Others on Board\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECertain portions of the settlement, such as financial penalties and exact time restrictions, are contingent upon Meta\u2019s competitors, TikTok and YouTube, adopting similar measures. De Choudhury says research shows that when one platform becomes more restrictive, users will migrate to another.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe kids who want to access social media between midnight and 6 a.m., when these platforms won\u0027t be available, will go to TikTok or they\u0027ll go somewhere else,\u201d she said. \u201cThis means that what we end up doing is not mitigating the harm but shifting it elsewhere. And that doesn\u0027t help anyone. So, this is welcome if it means the scope of this implementation can be broadened, and it would go a long way.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESocial Media in the AI Age\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDe Choudhury implores regulators to consider additional measures to protect children in the future, particularly those that safeguard their data in the age of artificial intelligence.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll of our data is getting used to train these AI models. This is especially true for a company like Meta, which has its own AI models. We are talking about minors. They can\u0027t meaningfully consent to the use of their data to build AI models. So we need to expand the scope of harm here, which is not just the mental health harm that can happen but the impacts of these companies storing and using children\u2019s data,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA federal \u201cright to be forgotten\u201d that allows individuals to request deletion of their data from social media sites and other online profiles is a step De Choudhury recommends, mirroring the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gdpr.eu\/right-to-be-forgotten\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EEuropean Union\u2019s policy\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProtecting the Vulnerable\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdults aren\u2019t immune to the dangers of social media, De Choudhury explained, but teenagers are more susceptible to triggers based on their stage of brain development. She hopes the recent settlement sets a precedent for active oversight.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have seen lawsuits in the past where specific school systems sued a social media company. We have seen some individual states taking action as well, but the scale of this settlement is something we haven\u0027t seen before,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe changes to the platforms will take effect over the next 12 months, but should Meta fail to do so, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/liu_j\/index.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJerry Liu\u003C\/a\u003E, lecturer in the Scheller College of Business and teacher of legal and ethical aspects of business, says states would not need to relitigate the case, in which Meta did not admit wrongdoing. Rather, they could ask the court to seek enforcement with contempt remedies, like additional financial penalties or sanctions.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Meta case has drawn comparisons to lawsuits against big tobacco in the 1990s. Liu says both cases invoke similar questions surrounding legality and ethics in business.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is a broader, ethical issue with this case, which is drawing the line between making an engaging product versus deliberately designing the product around human vulnerabilities to make a product addictive, particularly for children, and concealing harmful consequences,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWith big tobacco, the problem wasn\u0027t simply that cigarettes were addictive. It was the allegation that the industry knew about the addictive nature of cigarettes, manipulated nicotine levels, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.factualamerica.com\/behind-the-screenplay\/blowing-the-whistle-the-true-story-behind-the-insider\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Econcealed or minimized that knowledge\u003C\/a\u003E. Similarly, as with Meta and social media, the question is whether the social media companies know that particular design features or algorithmic tools can create unhealthy or compulsive behavior, particularly in children, and whether they have an ethical obligation to disclose that knowledge and redesign the product accordingly.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice retain federal enforcement authority in this case, but Liu said that individuals (including class-action suits) can potentially pursue separate state-law or other claims against Meta.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The social media giant will make changes to its platforms to address allegations of consumer protection law violations and the targeting of teenagers through addictive features.\u00a0 "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe social media giant will make changes to its platforms to address allegations of consumer protection law violations and the targeting of teenagers through addictive features.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The social media giant will make changes to its platforms to address allegations of consumer protection law violations and the targeting of teenagers through addictive features.\u00a0 "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2026-09-01 01:02:42","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 01:31:29","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681023":{"id":"681023","type":"image","title":"Meta","body":null,"created":"1788226037","gmt_created":"2026-09-01 01:27:17","changed":"1788226037","gmt_changed":"2026-09-01 01:27:17","alt":"Meta","file":{"fid":"265371","name":"AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/31\/AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/31\/AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4211015,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/31\/AdobeStock_479759140_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg?itok=O7dBUsbM"}}},"media_ids":["681023"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167543","name":"social media"},{"id":"10343","name":"mental health"},{"id":"10835","name":"Facebook"},{"id":"37031","name":"Instagram"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}