Meta’s $18B settlement is a useful FIRST step toward protecting kids — but can not be the LAST

Meta’s $18 billion settlement with 48 state attorneys general marks a welcome — and grossly overdue — step toward protecting kids from social media.

The figure is surely more logical than the $1.4 trillion, roughly equal to the company’s market cap, that Meta says the AGs sought.

Then again, it’s a pittance for the company: The platform might wind up paying as little as 30% of that amount over 10 years, or about $550 million a year — about what it hauls in on an average day.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/opinion/metas-18b-settlement-is-a-useful-first-step-toward-protecting-kids/