FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aug. 26, 2026

Contact: Ashwin Verghese, Communications Director, [email protected], 508-263-0289

States’ Settlement with Meta Shows There’s a Long Way to Go on Kids’ Online Safety

Fairplay Executive Director Josh Golin released the following statement today:

“This settlement is a significant step for the growing movement to protect kids from addictive and dangerously designed social media, but it also shows how much farther we have to go to truly keep children safe from Big Tech. While the state attorneys general have secured the most significant injunctive relief yet from Meta, we need our federal government to step in and pass the Kids Online Safety Act so that Meta and other social media companies will be forced to design their products for children’s safety and well-being.

“The settlement includes a number of valuable changes to Meta’s product designs, including efforts to protect young people’s sleep by disabling Instagram overnight for minors’ accounts. The settlement also requires disabling addictive and harmful features like displays of like counts and plastic surgery filters and new guardrails to protect children from predatory adults. We also greatly appreciate that Meta will be required to identify both under-13 and under-18 users without infringing on the privacy of adults. And increased monitoring of Meta’s safety features and compliance is critical for a company that has made a mockery of self-regulation. We thank the state attorneys general for their leadership in fighting for our children’s safety and well-being online.

“At the same time, we are disappointed that the settlement does not turn off by default recommendation algorithms that connect kids to predators and send young people down dangerous rabbit holes. In general, the settlement is too focused on offering parents tools rather than restricting harmful features. It also relies a lot on nudging users toward breaks, and we are skeptical that that will be effective. And even the financial penalties — while the biggest Meta has ever faced — are not large enough to fundamentally change Meta’s relentless targeting of youth.

“This settlement also underscores the need for KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act. As internal documents have shown over and over, Meta and other social media companies deliberately design their products to addict kids, and that is the root cause of so many mental health difficulties and serious online harms for minors. While it’s gratifying to see state attorneys general take action to hold companies like Meta accountable, we also need our federal government to step in to force these companies to make their products safe for kids by design so that every child on every platform will be protected, both now and in the future. KOSA has robust, bipartisan support from over three-quarters of the US Senate. We call on Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Charles Schumer to bring the bill to the floor for a vote next month.”

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About Fairplay

Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.