#socialmedia #meta - Is Meta’s $17B Settlement in Social Media Addiction Suit a Turning Point? Democracy Now!

27 August 2026

Prosecutors across 47 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories have announced a groundbreaking legal settlement with technology giant Meta over accusations that the social media company deliberately designed addictive products they knew to be harmful to children.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is set to pay at least $12 billion and up to $17.1 billion in financial penalties, in addition to implementing design changes for underage users. "This is the least they can do to prevent harms that have metastasized and have already caused suicides … [but] we cannot be relying on fines, or certainly even on litigation, after harms have already transpired.

What we need are rules of the road. And we need rules that go to the root cause of the business model," says Amba Kak, the co-executive director of AI Now Institute, who joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on tech policy and regulation.

Kak, who advises various governments on AI regulatory guidelines, adds, "The era of looking to tech CEOs or tech luminaries to give us answers for what are fundamentally social and political questions, I think, is gone."

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Meta's $18bn settlement may hasten reckoning for social media on child safety https://t.co/OMLoO6Cf4L

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 26, 2026

#socialmedia #trial - Meta and Zuckerberg face $1.4 TRILLION social media addiction trial: Channel 4 News

Goldbug: #meta #socialmedia #trial - The Meta Trial That Co...: 22 August 2026 Meta is facing what could be its most consequential trial yet, as 29 state attorneys general accuse the tech giant of knowing...

18 August 2026

Meta - the operator of social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram - and its boss Mark Zuckerberg are facing their biggest trial yet, with the tech giant being sued for the value of the company: $1.4 trillion. The trial, in Oakland, California, stems from a lawsuit filed in 2023 by 29 American states accusing Meta of being responsible for alleged social media harms to young people. As the lawyers for California told the jury: Meta's entire business model was to hook the users, hold them as long as they can, harvest their data and then hide the truth from the public. If found guilty the company will not just face a potentially crippling fine it may also be required to change the way it uses social media. It has been described as big social media's big tobacco moment. The reckoning in the courts comes at a time when the backlash against AI is also gathering steam. Meta is accused of designing psychologically manipulative features, designed to lure young people in and then maximise their time on the apps. Zuckerberg's company is ultimately accused of contributing to the US mental health crisis. Meta denies all allegations. ------- 0:00 - Meta stands trial over claims Instagram and Facebook are addictive 3:20 - Social media addiction trial has same ‘resonance’ as Civil Rights movement

Meta Platforms (META) "is turning into one of our favorite names," says CFRA's Angelo Zino, who says the core business and growth prospects both appear healthy.

The cheapest valuation among the Mag 7 and new products are other key factors he sees buoying the social media giant. Austin Lyons says Meta can use its own AI models to improve ad efficiency while keeping costs contained.

26 August 2026

Meta Agrees to $16.7 Billion Settlement in Social Media Case

EU wants Meta to extend US teen safety restrictions to Europe • FRANCE 24 English

#CNBC - Why Facebook-Parent Meta Is Willing To Lose Billions On The Metaverse

7 December 2024

Facebook changed its name to Meta in October 2021 and CEO Mark Zuckerberg used the occasion to show the world his vision of a digital future of work and play accessible through a VR headset. Two months later the company launched its virtual universe, Horizon Worlds. Propelling the metaverse hype to an all-time high. But, as the rebranding to Meta hits its third anniversary, the metaverse seems to be stalled out. So what happened to the metaverse?

#CNBC