Meta has reached an up to $18 billion settlement with a coalition of U.S. states over allegations that its platforms harmed teen mental health — but not everyone is convinced it goes far enough. Former Meta safety engineer Arturo Bejar, whose whistleblower testimony helped build the case, says the deal fails to address the core problems he testified about, warning it could simply codify the "safety theater" Meta has practiced for years.

The settlement includes measures like hiding like counts, parental controls, daily screen time caps, and better detection of underage users. However, internal Meta research — including a 2020 presentation to Mark Zuckerberg — showed that hiding likes had "at most a modest impact" on user well-being. Mental health experts offered a mixed verdict: Dr. Jane Conron of Northwestern University noted the opt-in non-algorithmic feed would likely go largely unused, but said daily time limits could genuinely help some teens who struggle to disengage.

Key Takeaways:

• The settlement does not require Meta to admit fault or acknowledge it built harmful products
• Remedies focus on parental controls and time limits, not algorithmic design changes
• In Australia, 8 in 10 young teens remain on social media despite a government ban on under-16s
• Clinicians note that some teens experience emotional distress when parents try to limit app use

Why it matters: For healthcare providers treating adolescent mental health, this settlement signals growing legal and societal recognition of social media's psychological toll on teens — but experts caution that structural platform changes, not just opt-in features, may be needed to drive real improvement.