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 $530 million a year — less than it hauls in on an average day.

That hardly compares to the enormous harm social media has caused an entire generation of kids — those who’ve gotten addicted, suffered anxiety or depression or even attempted suicide.

Still, as Fairplay, one of Meta’s loudest critics, concedes, the financial penalty is nonetheless “significant”; indeed, it sends an important message that the industry, and parents, can no longer ignore the damage done to kids.

Even more notable: Meta agreed to several new measures to protect children, including a two-hour daily limit; blocks on night-time use as a default as well as on notifications during school hours; warnings every 15 minutes of continuous screen time; and new parental controls.

That’s a useful start, though kids (and their parents) will likely need even tougher measures.

For instance, critics blame Meta’s algorithms for getting kids hooked and other issues, yet the settlement reportedly provides no requirement for that software to be tweaked.

Nor will its new steps solve any problems unless its competitors (looking at you, TikTok and YouTube) adopt similar measures. Otherwise, kids will just flock to the competitors to escape Meta’s controls.

That’s not only unfair to Meta, it’ll defeat the purpose of the changes.

It’ll also light a fire under advocates for government intervention, such as the Kids Online Safety Act, which is now moving through Congress — although such intervention is likely to prove necessary, in any event.

For too long, the nation all but ignored the truly awful consequences of unchecked social-media use by children.

Kids have suffered. Parents have had to fight with them to “put down that phone.”

The platforms themselves have been besieged with issues — Meta’s had to pay out in other cases — but, facing competition, haven’t taken sufficient steps to address the problems.

If the Meta settlement opens the door to social-media protections that truly deal with these issues and mitigate the dangers, it’ll be as monumental as everyone hopes.