Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, has agreed to an astonishing $18 billion settlement with 48 states, which accused the organization of knowingly harming children. Many parents, particularly those whose teens have taken their own lives, see this as a moment of celebration.
“It feels like vindication,” remarked Victoria Hinks, whose daughter, Owl, was only 16 when she died by suicide in 2024. Hinks was present at the US District Court for the Northern District of California when the settlement was disclosed on Wednesday morning.
“I feel like Owl was there.”
Hinks noted that her daughter, raised in Marin County, California, developed a severe addiction to Instagram and TikTok, to the extent that the family had to remove the door from her bedroom to stop her late-night scrolling.
After the tragedy, Hinks explored Owl’s phone, discovering content related to eating disorders, depression, self-harm, and suicide. She suspects that this algorithm-driven feed played a part in her daughter’s demise.
“I’m hoping that this settlement makes Meta feel some repercussions,” she said. “I wish Mark Zuckerberg would see this isn’t merely a cost of doing business. While it’s not just about money, that seems to be the only language they grasp.”
The settlement concluded an ongoing federal trial, and along with it, Meta committed to altering how its platforms function for minors.
Part of the changes include a two-hour daily time limit for access, automatic app shutdowns during the night, disabling notifications during school hours, enhanced parental controls, and reminders for teens after 15 minutes of continuous use.
Furthermore, Meta is advocating for cross-industry promises, specifically calling for similar measures from TikTok and YouTube.
However, some parents still find this insufficient.
“I don’t think there are enough zeros in this settlement figure — but that’s just me, a mother who has spent over 2,000 days without her daughter,” Lori Schott from Merino, Colorado, stated. Her daughter Annalee, an 18-year-old high school senior, died by suicide in November 2020 after years of frequenting social media platforms like Instagram.
After Annalee’s death, Lori reviewed her daughter’s phone and found a slew of discouraging content confirming Annalee’s feelings of inadequacy.
“Tonight was one of the worst nights I’ve had in a while,” Annalee had written months before her death. “I was sitting on my bathroom floor telling myself how much I hated myself. Nobody is going to love me unless I look the part. I look at other girls’ profiles, and it makes me feel worse.”
Lori learned about the settlement through a phone call from her son, who said, “Mom, you guys did it.” She had been among a group gathered outside the California courthouse as another significant case was heard, brought by an anonymous young woman known as KGM, against Meta and Google earlier this year.
“I’ll never believe it’s enough until parents like us, who have lost children, feel reassured that the digital landscape is safer,” Schott reflected. “Today was like reliving losing [Annalee] all over again … These changes could have saved my daughter’s life had they been initiated sooner.”
Matthew Bergman, an attorney representing KGM and the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, remarked that Meta’s adjustments for minors aren’t any sudden revelation.
“Let’s be clear. These changes were advised by Meta’s own trust and safety teams for years,” he expressed. “They’re significant steps forward, but there’s still a long road ahead.”
Erin Popolo from South Brunswick, NJ, shares that sentiment. She lost her daughter, Emily, to suicide at age 17 after experiencing cyberbullying on Snapchat and Instagram.
“It’s bittersweet because we want [Meta] to be held accountable — that’s what we’ve been asking for,” she noted. “But it doesn’t bring our children back.”
Emily had previously asked her mom for help in removing hurtful, anonymously posted images, but their efforts to contact Instagram were unsuccessful.
Tragically, the bullying escalated so much that Emily took her life in January 2021, culminating in one of her alleged bullies crashing her funeral service on Zoom and making threats.
For Popolo, the settlement fails to alleviate the pain. “They’re getting away with literal murder, if you ask me, at $18 billion,” she lamented.
On the other hand, Kathleen Spence believes that Meta’s reactions signify real change. Her daughter filed a lawsuit against the company in 2022, claiming it exacerbated her mental health issues.
“This settlement is about more than money — it’s empowering parents,” Spence told. Her daughter, Alexis, now 24, started graduate school for applied behavior analysis on the same day, aiming to assist other young people dealing with the challenges of online life. “Today we honor the memories of children harmed or lost due to social media.”
Meta was approached for a statement but had previously not responded regarding the cases involving Schott, Spence, and Hinks.
“All platforms should empower parents and support teens in these ways because we know that when teens are restricted on one app, they simply move to another,” Meta said regarding the settlement. “For meaningful progress to happen, we urge our peers to join us.”
While this settlement wraps up state-led cases from various attorneys general, Meta still faces ongoing litigation, primarily from families of social media victims. New Mexico and Florida have not settled and continue their own cases.
“We will never stop fighting for our children because we have nothing left to lose,” Hinks vowed.
