Below is my column on Fox.com on the Meta settlement over social media harms. These damages often seem like monopoly money for a corporation that could wipe out the loss in the market and pass on costs to consumers. If so, Mark Zuckerberg just pulled a community chest card to collect money from every other social media player.
Here is the column:
It is not every day that a company can settle a case for over $16 billion and celebrate. However, Meta’s settlement with 29 states is a remarkably good deal for a company facing a demand of over $1.4 trillion and years of litigation. In the end, it may not even take a loss from the litigation.
The settlement ends the latest mass liability case, following similar settlements in tobacco, opiates, and other products. It will require Meta to make changes to its platform, though the company already appeared to be moving to make such changes.
The maximum payment of closer to $17 billion is tied to whether competing platforms (like TikTok and YouTube) adopt parallel protections for children. Otherwise, the company is on the hook for at least $12.1 billion over 10 years under the agreement.
The company agreed to impose daily time limits for underage users as well as “nighttime blocks” from midnight to 6 am (as well as notifications linked to school hours).
It is doubtful that these “fixes” will actually fix the problem. Social media is enormously popular with adults and children alike. It is also ubiquitous and accessible, particularly for tech-savvy kids. The burden will remain with parents regarding access to and use of social media, not the company.
Meta was looking at a long slog in the courts. Some of us were skeptical of the legal basis for some of these claims. The line between a popular and an “addictive” product is fairly subjective. It was hard to see where the line would have been drawn in this litigation. However, Meta likely would have faced similar demands for changes to its platforms through legislation even if it prevailed in litigation.
Those legal questions will now have to wait for another test case. The settlement leaves other companies in a more exposed position. This massive settlement is like a dinner gong for plaintiff’s lawyers who will now fan out in packs in pursuit of companies like dusk on the Serengeti. Companies are already facing thousands of such lawsuits.
Meta has already lost cases in California and New Mexico over consumer safety and negligence claims. The priority was to limit the potential damages rather than to make new law.
The actual damages are not as daunting as it may seem. The tobacco multistate settlement was over $206 billion, not counting separate state settlements worth tens of millions more. The opiate settlements resulted in damages of roughly $60 billion.
Even at $16 billion, for a company the size of Meta, this is like monopoly money (literally so, if you ask some critics). The value of settling the case alone can wipe out that loss through stock-market gains and other pricing changes. After the tobacco settlement, companies like Philip Morris enjoyed market gains that effectively washed out the loss. Moreover, these companies enjoyed a very inelastic market, so they internalized costs with price hikes that left smokers holding the bag.
Ironically, if social media is as addictive as claimed by litigants, the market is equally inelastic. Big media will be able to easily recoup these damages as did Big Tobacco. Much of these damages will ultimately be passed on to and borne by social media users, operating like a tax for states receiving the funds.
The platform will clearly make positive changes that will assist parents. These are straightforward changes that have long been needed. Hopefully, these states will not just take this money and run as many did with the tobacco windfall. Instead, it would be a great help if the money went to enhancing programs for child mental illness.
Social media remains one of the most transformative inventions in history, including a powerful tool for free speech and political discourse. That popularity comes at a price. It will remain part of our social fabric, as are alcohol and tobacco products despite their abuse.
Meta did not create these social costs alone. We all did. We found ourselves overwhelmed by a technology with endless applications and potential for expression. This settlement will not erase those social costs any more than the tobacco settlement erased cancer or the opiate settlement erased addiction. The ultimate child-protection regulation will remain parents monitoring and educating their own children.
Meta’s corporate slogan, “Meta, Metamates, and Me,” may capture the problem. It is often hard for people to separate themselves from their virtual selves. This is a technology that is both liberating and captivating. Ultimately, despite the progress under this agreement, no settlement will protect us from ourselves.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
Meta did not create these social costs alone. We all did. We found ourselves overwhelmed by a technology with endless applications and potential for expression.
Justice Clarence Thomas on personal responsibility:
The nuns made it clear that when God created us, it was mind, soul, and body And you don’t just liberate the body, and that you were responsible. You committed a sin. It wasn’t because the devil didn’t make you do it. You did it. You gave in. You made the decision. And you were responsible and you didn’t do your homework. You were responsible. Excuses didn’t count. And my grandfather was that way. You were accountable.
here’s the money shot re monolithic thinking in Washington DC circles
It wasn’t until later on that people began to say that when I came to this town, one of the greatest difficulties if you look if you think about it was that there were those who thought that I should think a certain way. And the difficulty has been that they said that, oh, you’re confused. Well, I’m not confused. You’re confused. You confuse me with someone who’s been in indentured servitude or something But at any rate, they think that here’s the way you’re supposed to think. Again, here’s your skin color. There’s this kind of deterministic view that you’re supposed to think this because we say so. And I of course declined that invitation. And so now that means that something that I’m a walking contradiction because I’ve deviated from their perception of what I should think.
Listening to Justice Thomas speak is like music to my soul. May he live to be 100
America doesn’t need intellectuals, golden-throated orators, or silver-tongued politicians with Juris Doctorates.
America needs seasoned, successful, and patriotic Americans who can read and adhere to the “manifest tenor” of the Constitution.
“There’s this kind of deterministic view . . .”
That is spot on!
Those who wish to shirk personal responsibility always blame some outside factor for their bad choices and actions: Twinkies made me murder. Advertising made me go bankrupt. Trump made me denounce relatives. Facebook made me a zombie. McDonalds made me obese. . . .
Determinism is a handy crutch for the victim mentality.
P.S. Thanks for the Thomas quote. (And the Aristotle one the other day.)
Why did Anita Hill give false testimony, Estovir?
To criminally attempt to falsely impeach a SCOTUS candidate?
When I was 15 years old, I wanted to get my drivers license. When I got the license I wanted my parents car so that I could do what I wanted with friends. Then, their car was not enough and I wanted my own. My parents paid 50% and I the other 50%.
In short, my parents enabled me to acquire, maintain and enjoy an addictive habit that has proven harmful to both me, other individuals and property. The same as I have allowed my children.
Why haven’t I sued the auto industry? Because my parents brought me up to be responsible for my actions as they were responsible for their actions.
This is nothing short of irresponsibility on the parent’s part and greed on the lawyers. Just don’t buy the device if you don’t want to be responsible.
Did you feel the same way about cigarette manufacturers trying to addict children?
Yes.
I made the decision to start smoking at 14. I made the decision to stop at 34. I took responsibility for my actions as all individuals should. This, I am the victim mentality has reached epidemic proportions that creates the nanny state where lawyers make money and government controls everything. No how a productive society works.
So the cigarette manufactures that targeted and others at 14 have no responsibility? The ones that lied about the harmful effects, them? I’m all for personal responsibility, but also holding corporations responsible for bad behavior.
Your point is well taken. I hate the effects of tobacco and smoking as well as its additive properties and the damage it has done to the nation’s health over the years and decades. Probably the most damaging, healthwise, of any material presented to the public both in the US and worldwide. As soon as the dangers were proved it should have been banned permanently. Just because it does not kill you with the first use, it is a poison and should have been banned. It is worse than asbestos and affected more people but it’s still out there.
Did the 14 year old have parents? any guidance? School? Never told the dangers of cigarettes? runaway?
So does it take a village or not? You are simply anti-capitalist and it shows.
You want to take responsibility but you feel the ones that lied about harmful effects should be punished. Does that include politicians that say you can keep your health insurance? Does that include the the Covid doctor that said one thing to the public and then another in private that injured and killed thousands? What about the car manufacturers that say you will get 15 mpg and you only get 12 mpg? Or the politician that claims to be Native American to get ahead of other qualified individuals? The list goes on as to who you can blame instead of yourself or those that make their own decisions. Why not do the research and take responsibility for your own decisions? If you are a child, where were your parents to help guide you and if you are a parent are you guiding your children?
Again it is easy to play the victim and blame others instead of being a parent or responsible adult.
#Sad
Addict children? You’re still stuck in the 60’s eh? Haven’t seen any ads targeting children… in decades.
Cigarettes can legally be manufactured. Each state has its own laws regulating sales.
Question, why is it that blacks are known to prefer menthol cigarettes? Is that racist stereotyping or a fact?
What about malt beer?
It was the parents, bro; they all SMOKED, you know, like a form of affirmative action.
^^^^ It was the parents, bro; they all SMOKED, you know, like a form of affirmative action.
The weak love to think of themselves as victims. some small compensation for their lack of self-esteem.
stop smoking? “I can’t! I’m weak”. It’s just an excuse so they can remain smoking.
Justifications are needed to convince themselves.
“the bigger they are, the harder they fall”
SpaceX/Tesla/Nivida AI… someday the Axe will also fall upon these.
AI string: ( Who were the litigators for Meta in the recent settlement )
In the August 2026 landmark $17 billion to $18 billion settlement regarding teen social media addiction and child safety claims, Meta was legally represented by two prominent national defense law firms:
• Covington & BurlingDavis
• Polk & Wardwell
These litigators defended the tech giant against a bipartisan coalition of 51 state attorneys general and U.S. territories—co-led by California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky—before settling one week into a major federal trial in Oakland, California.
Ref.:
Attorney General Schwalb Announces That Meta Will Pay Up to $17.1 Billion for Exploiting Kids with Intentionally Addictive Social Media Platforms
In Largest Big Tech Settlement Ever, DC Will Receive Between $90.3 and $129.3 Million & Meta Will Make Sweeping Child Safety Reforms to Instagram and Facebook
By: OAG Press DC ~ August 26, 2026
https://oag.dc.gov/release/attorney-general-schwalb-announces-meta-will-pay
Meta Agrees to Pay Up to $17B in Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims
The settlement, announced one week into a federal trial underway in Oakland, California, resolves claims by 51 states and territories that the social media giant designed addictive features, knew it exposed young users to mental harms and intentionally misled the public about the risk of its platforms.
By: Michelle Morgante, Cheryl Miller and Michael Gennaro – Law.com ~ August 26, 2026
https://www.law.com/international-edition/2026/08/26/meta-agrees-to-pay-up-to-17b-in-settlement-over-social-media-addiction-claims/
There is a lot of emphasis this morning on parental duty. No disagreement here. Yet, if we look at that duty, it is the censorship that we abhor when done by government and censorship by government through surrogate. The means for meeting that duty is somewhere between impossible and “you’ll just have to suck it up”. For years we have been playing Whack A Mole with search, apps and social media trying to learn settings that protect children and personal information. Because the suppliers keep changing the settings landscape and making controls more opaque. Part of the answer is help from writers like Kurt Knudsen, the Cyber Guy. Part of the answer is how much can government shut off child access to media by age. That gets into the line of cases that support reduced Bill of Rights protection for youth, like Fourth Amendment protection of expectation of privacy in a school locker. I would suggest that one part of a way forward is to seek a reliable handle on “a day in the life of an internet parent”. That would include time effort with child settings, and time reading terms and conditions of the contract of adhesion for an app, an order from Amazon, and a patient portal website. Basically a surgical consent: “cut me up and throw me away”. You probably have many more examples that inform parent duty than this writer.
Part of the agreement text: “Along with the payout, Meta agreed to new protections for teens including a default two-hour daily time limit, a default block from the apps between midnight and 6 a.m., muted notifications during school hours, the option to choose a non-algorithmic feed, ability to turn off autoplay, hiding likes on teen accounts, disabling cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters on teen accounts, protecting minors from unwanted contact from “suspicious adults,” and stronger parental controls, among other changes.” From justthenews.com.
Its superficial. Any savvy kid can get past all that. And still the parent is not involved? Its all meaningless. Say goodbye to your children.
Also from the article: “Trying to wipe out a decade of harm to the nation’s youth with one month’s cash flow is an insult,” Uthmeier said in response to the agreement. “Corporations like Meta will never learn a lesson if they don’t incur real costs for breaking the law.”
New law… jail time for execs and parents?
In China, Tik Tok content is curated and includes only arts, educational, and (of course) propaganda content.
you haven’t seen anything yet.
Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple have spent decades trying to own your brain
AI is smarter than YOU…and Wall Street…wants EVERY PENNY YOU HAVE!
Please note that AI is artificial and not intelligent.
smarter Republican Florida didn’t take the deal! They are going to go directly!
Republicans in Florida have nominated a drug dealer for Governor. How smart is that? The present Governor and his wife stole $10 million from the public (Hope Florida). The current senior Senator engaged in the nation’s largest Medicare fraud and goes on rants against Somalians whose cumulative fraud didn’t match his. The current President set up a scheme for his crypto company where he and his sons (along with Steve Witcoff and his sons) made billions while other investors got shafted. Florida is where “smart Republicans” know they’ll never be prosecuted. I almost left out Matt Gaetz transporting minors for sex and Jeffrey Epstein’s sweetheart deal.
And the Israelite slaves were out of Egypt before the ink was dry on their release papers, but then, they had the capacity and acumen sufficient for the task.
And secession was not prohibited, and everything Lincoln did, subsequent to his denial thereof, was unconstitutional and awaits abrogation and reversal.
And secession was not prohibited, and everything Lincoln did, subsequent to his denial thereof, was unconstitutional and awaits abrogation and reversal.
Come on now – the TECH GENIE has been out for a LONG TIME NOW. Most kids are Tech Savvy at very young ages, thanks to Mom & Dad giving them access to the tools as a BABYSITTER and in the name of making them ‘ready for the future’ but as everyone can see there is a BIG TRADEOFF in a free society. First, most kids easily navigate around ANY Parental Controls in almost every case so good luck with stopping access on the kids’ preferred schedule. Second, this altruistic BS from the legal system (State AG Fame & Money Grubbers) to ‘protect the children’ is baloney and just pandering to various Mad Momma Lobby Groups. Hey Mad Momma’s, how about you learn to set limits on little Eddie and Sally as their parent rather than expect society to police your unstable kid due to your dis-functional home life! Oh but wait, your pandering buddies in the legal system (aka ambulance chasers) are eager to take your meritless lawsuit to a Black Robe Dem Illuminati that would approve a bag of dogsh!t as evidence of a crime. Gotta Luv Merican Justice, right? Socialist crybabies get another win!
Is that you George X?
“this altruistic BS from the legal system (State AG Fame & Money Grubbers) to ‘protect the children’ is baloney and just pandering to various Mad Momma Lobby Groups.”
You completely miss the true point of those regulations. Yes, what you mention is a limited factor, but the real impetus (and threat) is a blatant attempt to remove all remaining anonymity (and, in consequence, all autonomy) from our lives, making us visible and subject to complete control over our speech and our behavior.
@#6 – And you think your identity and habits haven’t already been compromised? That horse was let out the barn a long time ago, Pegasus?
“you think your identity and habits haven’t already been compromised”
Which habits? Associated with which identity? Some of us have been anticipating these developments for a very long time. And you are correct in that 100% anonymity and secrecy is not possible, and has not been for probably nearly 50 years. However, it remains quite feasible to avoid being the low-hanging fruit that will be harvested early. There always has been, and always will be, stratification of individuals targeted, based in large part on the relative cost of exploiting them. Since there is so much obviously insensate cannon fodder laying about, I am reasonably confident of avoiding any truly damaging effects from such surveillance for a while yet.
I don’t trust web 2.0 companies any further than I could throw them. This is meaningless, they will not stop what they are doing, not for a second. This is but a momentary reprieve – we need more than four years to fix it, and indeed, fingers point directly back to the CEOs and leaders of the companies in question.
Social media companies are irresponsible? How do you figure? We? If you have a problem with it, then by all means, drop it.away.
Give an idiot a device and a social media account and you get an idiot with a social media presence. Like you.
“This is meaningless, they will not stop what they are doing, not for a second.”
That is so, but their hubris may well prove to be their downfall. The history of the web and the internet is replete with players that were dominant, ubiquitous, and seemingly invulnerable at one moment, and non-factors or entirely gone not long after. I look forward to both Meta and Google duplicating that phenomenon…
James,
Same game, different venue.
I knew long ago, the purpose of companies was to make money. They do it with marketing and advertising. Catchy slogans, jingles, endorsements from celebrities. They try to convenience you, you want or need to buy their product. But we also have free will. I can walk into a big box store for an hour and buy nothing. Same goes for the internet. But in that case, the product can be dumb things like cat videos with ads, or so-called influencers.
So, I just do not use those companies like Meta, or Apple, TikToc, etc. For me, they have nothing to offer.
As for children, as a parent, do not give them a device in the first place. If they have one, dependent on Wi-Fi, lock down access to social media at the router level and MAC address. Even at the device level with sys admin settings/white list/black list.
When my children wanted something, I told them to get a job and pay for it themselves.
The entire thing is a money grab by the states, lawyers and parents who maybe shouldn’t be parents. I’m not a fan of Meta or Zuc and yes they have to change and pay their due. What part of the blame goes to the parents, they’re as guilty as Meta and shouldn’t receive a dime. Right along they have been the failing controls in protecting their children. What’s next sue Starbucks, gee my kid is “addictied” to the Starbucks concoctions, they can’t sleep or concentrate because they’re always drinking Starbucks? There’s no longer any personal responsibility or parental responsibility, just blame someone else or something for you or your kids actions and grab the money. We’re a failing nation of self centered lazy and greedy weenies who are about to be taken over by the enemy within.
Hey, here’s something you might not have thought of … Your children and you don’t have to use Meta.
Don’t?
I have a sneaky feeling that a age verification system is going to be mandatory sometime in the near future. Once the dems shuffle into Washington. Then the commenters here will have to verify their names and ages. Then the comments will disappear. I wonder how many of you are ashamed of the crap you post here. Would you publicly own up to it, to know that your children, friends and neighbors see the Mr. Hyde side of you. Your ugly true self.
Why?
The majority of us, who use a handle, make common sense, logical, even insightful comments. We have nothing to be ashamed of.
Annonys on the other hand . . . well . . . there is a reason why they are . . . annony.
We have nothing to be ashamed of. Okay, then post your legal name, age, and location.
Ashamed of? Then why do you use a anonymous meme?
Are you as dumb as you sound? I’ve never seen a comemnt from that wasn’t a synthesis of the daily headline, devoid of any insight, let alone smarts. And your singular focus on anyone using anonymous. You contradict yourself in the same sentence… nothing to be ashamed of you say? Then prove it, reveal yourself. Put up or shut up.
Living rent free in your head.
“The majority of us, who use a handle, make common sense, logical, even insightful comments.”
What does common sense, logic and insight have to do with comments here?
So you just proved anon correct. Do you know how you did that?
Looks like your butt buddies have abandoned you farmer. No Olly, no hullbooby, no dustoff, no kirk, no K, not even James.
Not quite loser Ano.
Just wake up from your drunk stupor?
” there is a reason why they are . . . annony.” Powerful insight there, now elaborate. But you are an annony too?
Upstate, you are on the money once again. These Anon fools are trying to sabotage the site with their constant moronic comments. It really is a shame an indictment of our education systems.
HullBobby,
We all know it is just one annony, making multiple comments to try to make himself look relevant.
And fails.
If anything his comments, as you point out, are indictments of our failed education system.
Sure, we use handles with key icons. But it proves who we are by our comments. We have ever so much more credibility than the annony.
And it shows.
@Anonymous
Really: you are an idiot and a fascist, likely paid by the same. By all means continue to illustrate that for everyone, but don’t expect them to go along.
@ James
Really: you are an idiot and a fascist, likely paid by the same. By all means continue to illustrate that for everyone, but don’t expect them to go along.
@Anonymous
You are very good at cutting and pasting; not much else, and everyone sees you, even though you are an anonymous coward.
James calm down, take a breath, think…. Anonymous coward you say? Does it dawn on you that you too are an anonymous coward?
Wrong.
James has been making comments here on the good professor’s blog for quite some time. We see it by his comments, get a feeling for his ideology, his outlooks on various subjects and come to feel he is something much more than an anonymous person.
We know he uses a mobile device to make comments as he is at work. So, we easily read past the typos knowing virtual keyboards and autocorrect are not always the best means to make comments but it is what James has.
Same could be said about OLLY, OldManFromKS, Lin, John Say, Young, DustOff, Estovir and many others.
Lin and I have even discussed the possibility of a get together for a cook out, good music and a glass of wine.
You on the other hand, the only thing we get from you is you are a nasty person. You prove that by your own comments.
So hiding behind an anonymous handle, makes you … courageous, credible? Naaa. … a clown.
So anon is a paid fascist, and an idiot. I get the idiot part, but fascist? James, please elaborate.
To better target age groups? It’s how they work. Buy a gold watch, 5 dollars. The constitution had to be bypassed. I’ve got some really nice gold thread to sell. It’s invisible.
So the dozens of states and Meta have agreed that the value of a child’s sanity, future etc. is worth just a few bucks each.
What will the states do with the money, put warning stickers on all devices sold in their states?
Better than stickers would be laws regulating parent/child responsibility with social media. What do schools do about it? Nothing? But sex ed seems to be primary, instead of teaching responsibility.
“The company agreed to impose daily time limits for underage users as well as “nighttime blocks” from midnight to 6 am (as well as notifications linked to school hours).” (JT)
In other words: To act as a surrogate parents to those children being raised by irresponsible parents. And then Meta is compelled to pay billions to parent those parentless children.
America’s liability laws need a complete overhaul. Start with personal responsibility for misusing and abusing a product.
I wonder what your children say if they knew that their parents sit on the internet 12 hours a day?
This is interesting: “personal responsibility for misusing and abusing a product.” So what about the so called people who use this blog all day long?
Just because the average commenter here is 75 years old doesn’t mean they’re free of a mental psychosis.
Admittedly there are dozens of crazies here, many with obvious mental issues all the more enhanced by using this blog daily.
Turley feeds those commenters a daily dose of rage. What responsibility does Turley carry?
But annony, you could not be more wrong.
If anyone is here all day, every day, all we have to do is look at all your comments that start early in the morning and go all day and well into the night.
And you have no clue as to the average age of commenters here on the good professor’s blog.
That is not rage PT is “feeding” us. He is pointing out the stupid and crazy going on in America. It is not his responsibility for anything. How we take information, analyze it, and then form an opinion is on us.
And that is not rage. That is being an informed citizen.
Of all the crazies here you shine the brightest.
So screaming at and attacking democrats, as well as anonymous commenters, all day long is being an informed citizen?
.
But where have I made a crazy comment?
No one is screaming at, attacking Democrats. We make comments, observations, opinions of what some Democrats have said or done. It is not our fault what they are saying or doing is crazy and stupid. They to it to themselves.
Bill Maher, along with PT and even other Democrats have been saying it for years.
Well, if some of you annonys would not make dumb comments, we would not make our comments or observations.
I had two classes today. So, I have not been here, like you, all day long.
Informed citizen? You? You be-clown yourself.
Only the shadow knows.
LOL…. Nice one Bob
Prowly gives those stats. Most are men about 50ish but I can’t quite recall. That’s for this site. Kids don’t use it much. They’re grooming eyebrows and gluing on nails.
Revelation 10:7 predicted Before the seventh trumpet sounds, mystery of God will be accomplished as revealed through the prophets. Sadly historical ignorance leaves the masses unaware does these milestones have happened, or of the scripts themselves. https://photos.app.goo.gl/rX3zjyupnDLKsoAv7
Sure pal, whatever you say. Someone call the crazy hotline on this nutjob.
Democrats who want children to take hormone therapy are suing social media which addict children to grooming content. Should I chalk this up to irony or cynicism? Why can’t it be both?
Republicans also force their children into hormone therapy. Or do you have proof they don’t? What about Libertarians?
Any proof ano?
Post away if you have any.
You asked, find it yourself. Or are too stupid to use a search engine?
Oh! Annony! You ask if they have proof and when DustOff asks you to show proof you have a meltdown.
It shouldn’t be surprising that a company creates a product designed to make people crave that product. Society can decide it’s wrong and punish the company, but it’s hardly a surprise. That is what successful companies do. Companies understand brains better than lawmakers.
And of course the parents acknowledge no responsibility. Too busy on social media to care.
So tell us about how you handle your children, adolescent or not?
Infanticide. Works pretty well.
The key lesson here is that companies like Facebook and TikTok have learned how easily they can addict children to visual media—and how profitable it is. This temptation will prove irresistible. In the next phase, these mega-corporations will farm the practice out to “partners,” thereby sloughing off direct culpability. Ultimately, parents bear the principal responsibility, which requires physically separating their children from the source of the addiction. Meanwhile, video games may be even worse, absorbing boys’ fantasies, desires, and goals while celebrating violence.
What about your kids?
Video games? So only boys play video games? And girls just post personal porn on social media.
Zuck did a lot more damage with his Zuck Bucks election interference in the 2020 elections. Meta should go broke.
Spoken like a true socialist.