US parents 'robbed' of evidence in Meta settlement over teen harm

Parents who lost children to social media harms feel robbed of justice after Meta settled a landmark lawsuit for $18 billion. The lawsuit, brought by 29 US states, accused Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of design flaws that led to children becoming addicted and vulnerable to exploitation.

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What evidence did they not want to get out?

Outside a federal court in Oakland, California, parents expressed frustration that the settlement prevented crucial evidence of Meta's awareness of platform harms from being revealed. Erin Popolo, whose daughter Emily died by suicide at 17 after cyberbullying on Instagram, questioned what evidence Meta wished to conceal. "What evidence did they not want to get out?" she asked.

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We were robbed of seeing the evidence

Mary Rodee, whose son died by suicide after being targeted by online extortion, stated that the settlement's measures would not have protected him. She criticized the lack of restrictions on advertising to minors and the absence of algorithmic transparency. "Our kids need to be protected from your algorithms and ads," Rodee told Al Jazeera.

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Our kids need to be protected from your algorithms and ads

The states' case had presented internal documents suggesting Meta executives knew about security loopholes. Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri, testified about new features like break reminders and quiet modes for teens. However, he confirmed parents had no way of knowing that only 1-2% of children used these features. Parents like Popolo and Rodee seek convictions and greater transparency, arguing that the settlement, while hailed by some officials as historic, fails to address the fundamental issues driving harm to young users.

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This agreement could simply codify much of the 'safety theater' that Meta has been doing in recent years. Instagram will be used a little less, but it will not be any safer.