Critics also note that Meta has made almost $5bn of the payout conditional on US states reaching comparable agreements with TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat.

This means that adults are now “on the fast track to having to verify their identity before accessing vast swaths of the internet”, according to Nico Perrino, the host of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast. 

Social Media Backlash

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, lead lawyer in the case brought by 29 states against Meta, called the settlement a “major moment” to “clean up an industry that has been hurting our kids”, although Meta has denied any wrongdoing.

The settlement comes amid mounting pressure on social media companies over claims that their products have harmed children. 

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, one of the chief critics of social media’s approach to children, argues that the platforms have contributed to creating what he terms “the anxious generation”. His book by the same name has become influential in an international regulatory crackdown on tech giants, which gained global attention after Australia banned social media access for under-16s.

Australia’s move is now being considered in several countries, including the United Kingdom and France, while more than 3,000 lawsuits in the US alone are targeting social media companies. 

Earlier this year, Meta and YouTube were found liable and ordered to pay $6m after a young American woman successfully argued their platforms encouraged social media addiction that harmed her mental health.

New Mexico also secured orders requiring Meta to pay almost $1bn in total over claims the company had recklessly endangered children with its products. Meta is appealing both cases.

Meta and other companies like TikTok and YouTube have maintained that they take the safety of young users seriously, pointing to protections they have introduced for teenage users. 

Child-safety campaigners say existing measures are too complicated and ineffective, placing the burden of controlling children's social media use on parents rather than the platforms themselves.

Ramping Up the Regulatory Push

The latest settlement goes considerably further. Not only has Meta signed an agreement to introduce restrictions on its platforms, but it has also waived its right to challenge the settlement and resulting consent judgment on constitutional grounds.

This means the new restrictions for young users are likely to remain in place, fundamentally changing how children use the platforms and potentially affecting adults as well.

The measures include default limits on app use for teen accounts, night and school modes that restrict use and notifications and disabling likes and cosmetic filters for teenagers.

Meta has committed to improving how it identifies children using its platforms and will introduce options for young users to restrict autoplay, opt for a non-personalized chronological feed and receive reminders interrupting prolonged scrolling.

These requirements currently apply only in the US – for the time being.

Government Power Grab?

While these changes have been welcomed by Republicans and Democrats alike, including members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, free speech and privacy advocates are alarmed both by the settlement itself and the precedent it sets. 

Reclaim the Net, a libertarian news site focusing on free speech and privacy issues on the internet, warns that the 130-page judgment requires the social media giant to introduce an “age assurance” system covering users of Facebook and Instagram.

https://twitter.com/HouseCommerce/status/2092750151618306347

Meta will therefore need a system capable of distinguishing adults from minors. This could involve facial age estimation, analysis of behavioral signals or age-related information provided by Apple or Google.

If these age checks fail to meet the terms of the agreement, Meta and the states are required to meet and confer to come up with alternatives.

Users who refuse to verify their age will automatically be treated as a minors, according to Reclaim the Net. While adults are not expressly required to provide ID, Meta is making the alternative very unappealing.

Significant Privacy Risks

The digital privacy nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation has warned that the requirements pose “significant privacy risks”, as it is extremely difficult to protect against data breaches and law enforcement requests for data.

Technology journalist Taylor Lorenz simply called the deal “horrifying” and argued it “sets a precedent that is currently being used to obliterate our rights”. 

https://twitter.com/TaylorLorenz/status/2092808283249872911

Lorenz is particularly critical of regulatory moves that are eroding users' ability to remain anonymous on the internet, thereby protecting their data. She noted that Meta’s statement on the settlement made no mention of privacy or data concerns.

Previously, such regulatory proposals have been contested under the US Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech. Meta retains the right to contest any future laws or regulations, but it has waived its right to contest the agreement and consent judgment it just signed.

Tremors Across the Web

The settlement formally applies only to Meta, but its effects may not stop with Facebook and Instagram. Meta has made clear that it wants its competitors to operate under similar rules.

The company has urged its competitors TikTok and YouTube to adopt the measures voluntarily. More significantly, a portion of Meta's payout is conditional on US states reaching comparable settlements with other major platforms within a specified period.

The agreement protects Meta from being left at a competitive disadvantage. The 130-page judgment makes clear that, should another major platform secure a less restrictive settlement, the states must offer to modify Meta’s agreement to match, with only certain protections for under-13s excluded from that provision.

By agreeing to settle the case, Meta has influenced the terms on which its competitors can negotiate with states. 

Global Implications

The new safety features will initially apply only in the US, but given the international regulatory push already underway, the deal could embolden regulators elsewhere.

It also raises questions about President Donald Trump’s approach to European Union efforts to regulate American tech companies. 

While Trump has previously been critical of the EU’s attempted crackdown on Big Tech, the Meta agreement includes nine of the 12 measures the EU is attempting to impose on social media giants under its Digital Services Act (DSA).

The EU has already imposed fines worth hundreds of millions of dollars on a number of platforms for breaching the terms of the DSA. 

So far, neither Trump nor any senior EU official has publicly responded to the settlement. But given the concessions US states secured from Meta, European authorities may double down on their regulatory efforts. 

At a time when free speech advocates warn that politicians are increasingly critical of the freedom of individuals to express their opinions online, the developments in the US could embolden lawmakers elsewhere to crack down on speech while appearing to have the best interests of their citizens at heart.