Parents Say Meta Settlement Is Big, but Not Enough

Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay $17.1 billion to settle lawsuits filed by 47 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and several territories. The states claimed that Meta's apps were addictive and put children in danger. Many parents across the country reacted to the news on Wednesday — some felt relieved, but others said the settlement doesn't go far enough to protect young people.

Julie Frumin is a family therapist in Southern California. She found out about the settlement when her mother-in-law sent her an excited text message early Wednesday morning. Ms. Frumin told her kids right away — Ryan, 12, and Elyse, 9 — and the family talked about it over breakfast. Her son noticed the huge number and asked how much money Meta actually has. Ms. Frumin told him that $17.1 billion isn't really that much for a company like Meta.

That breakfast conversation shows how many parents are feeling. At first, the settlement sounds like a big win. But after thinking about it more, many parents have serious questions. They worry about whether the deal will actually change anything, and they believe more needs to be done to keep kids safe online. Ms. Frumin said she wants laws that require social media products to be safe from the start, not just after the damage is done.

For some families, the settlement feels too small and too late. Luke and Brittney Bird live in Kronenwetter, Wisconsin. Their 15-year-old son, Bradyn, died by suicide in 2025, just hours after someone targeted him in a sex scam on Facebook. Ms. Bird, 37, said no parent who has lost a child to something that happened on social media cares about money. 'We care that we have a son, and we don't anymore. Nothing fixes that.'

Experts have noticed that as social media use has grown over the past 15 years, rates of depression and anxiety among young people have also risen. Scientists are still studying whether social media directly causes these problems. But many experts say that teenagers often spend so much time on screens that they skip healthier habits like sleep and exercise. The link between heavy social media use and mental health struggles is hard to ignore.

Meta has agreed to make some changes as part of the settlement. The company said it will limit how much time teenagers can spend on its apps. It will also remove some features, like 'like' counts, that encourage kids to compare themselves to others. Meta will also ban the use of 'extreme makeup filters.' Meta's chief legal officer said the company hopes to set 'a new industry standard' for protecting young users.

Still, some parents are not sure the changes will work. Eric Schlemann, 48, a father of a tween and two teenagers, wondered how age limits and other rules would actually be enforced. Meta has not yet explained exactly how it plans to do that. Mr. Schlemann said that in the end, parents still need to set their own rules for their children. He admitted that many parents don't pay close attention to what their kids are doing on social media, which makes the problem harder to solve.

Other parents at a sports complex in Germantown, Ohio, shared their thoughts on Wednesday afternoon. Todd Peck, 46, a father of two kids ages 11 and 15, said he thinks Meta will find ways around the new rules, just like kids try to get around their parents' rules. Matthew Mitchell, a consultant in Des Moines and father of three kids ages 12, 16, and 18, said what's really needed is a strong system of rules — like the safety standards that car companies must follow. He said that if Meta agreed to pay $17.1 billion, the company probably feels it got off easy.

Mr. Mitchell, 48, said talking about social media is a daily conversation in his home. He believes his kids are up against systems built to grab and hold their attention. He said parents are told to be involved in their children's online lives and to set firm limits, and that they should. But he also feels that families are being asked to fight alone against huge, powerful tech companies. 'We're just outgunned,' he said.