The only outcome I see from the Meta ruling is all of the other platforms getting spooked by the huge payout and starting to preemptively add aggressive age-gating and ID checks on everything on the internet (regardless of local legislation).
Your definition of what is a social media site may differ from the definition of someone who has an axe to grind against you and take you and your phpbb forum to court.
What other platforms (I think you mean social media) exist in the West? It's just Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and whatever company manages the western Tik Tok. Luckily, they are easy to stay away from. There is more to the internet than these 2 companies.
What reckoning? The settlement benefits Meta immensely. They just got the go ahead to implement age-gating at a wide scale, which will make their ad platform even more lucrative after each account can be tied back to a real identifiable person. They've totally captured the regulatory system, and the media is applauding it.
> What reckoning? The settlement benefits Meta immensely.
This was one lawsuit. It settled their immediate legal problems with the 47 states and DC that were included in the settlement.
Florida is continuing with its own case against them, and there are also thousands of other pending cases from individuals (89%) and governments below the state level such as school districts (11%).
The present settlement does include an admission of guilt so the plaintiffs in those other suits so there plaintiffs will also have to prove guilt, put they can use a massive amount of material that the states put together in their case.
They can use anything that was presented in open court.
They can also get copies of all the internal Meta information that the state Attorney Generals got via discovery, even if those documents were never presented in open court. They may have to keep them confidential and so can't use them in open court, but they can use them to build their case and depose Meta executives about them.
All in all, the plaintiffs in thousands of pending cases have just been handed a multi-million page trove of evidence put together using the enormous resources of 47 states designed to nail Meta.
This settlement benefits meta immensely. Are the journalists reading the correct judgement?
The stock pretty much had a breakout when this news came out.
Meta stock is up $400 since 2016-2018, when "teen mental health" first became a concern. It's clear that META has boomed since then. Fines have amounted to little more than a cost of doing business. Stern words amount to no more than empty threats.
I'm ok with generic people struggling with that. But anybody covering tech or business should be able to work effectively with the numbers at hand. Anything less is journalistic malpractice.
There's arguably more journalistic malpractice going on than actual journalism.
Think back to anything you can speak to with some authority, personally or professionally. Think of the last time a reporter actually got it right. It does happen, and there are a few good journalists still out there who care about getting the facts and the issues right. But it's buried under a pile of ignorant rage-baiting slop.
Unfortunately, it really depends who you consider a journalist. With internet advertising destroying journalism as a revenue source, as anyone can really say anything about who they are
2010 for me. I mean they're continually fucking around with privacy settings. It shows. Things show up all the time that people didn't approve of/vet
Zuckerberg is a sociopath with a dim view of humanity. He doesn't think people should have privacy. That's why the photo tagging and post visibility issues and the rest of it
He is one, regardless of which side of the political spectrum you follow
HN commenters who suggest this settlement was a "win" for Meta are implying Meta stood to lose more by not settling
These commenters must believe Meta could not win at trial
The indication from the bellwethers is that plaintiffs can win, and Meta can be forced to settle
There are more cases coming down the pipe. When will it end
A "win" for Meta would be winning a bellwether, putting uncertainty and doubt in the minds of potential plaintiffs
That still has not happened (one case was dropped)
"Meta still faces thousands of other suits filed by teenagers, families and school districts. The next major personal injury trial is scheduled to be heard in California Superior Court of Los Angeles County in October.
Meta said it was confident it could win the case."
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[ 2.2 ms ] story [ 12.1 ms ] threadTo many people, the Internet is Facebook.
Back in the day, the same people considered AOL to be the Internet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbyYGrswtg
You posit a useless POV
This was one lawsuit. It settled their immediate legal problems with the 47 states and DC that were included in the settlement.
Florida is continuing with its own case against them, and there are also thousands of other pending cases from individuals (89%) and governments below the state level such as school districts (11%).
The present settlement does include an admission of guilt so the plaintiffs in those other suits so there plaintiffs will also have to prove guilt, put they can use a massive amount of material that the states put together in their case.
They can use anything that was presented in open court.
They can also get copies of all the internal Meta information that the state Attorney Generals got via discovery, even if those documents were never presented in open court. They may have to keep them confidential and so can't use them in open court, but they can use them to build their case and depose Meta executives about them.
All in all, the plaintiffs in thousands of pending cases have just been handed a multi-million page trove of evidence put together using the enormous resources of 47 states designed to nail Meta.
Think back to anything you can speak to with some authority, personally or professionally. Think of the last time a reporter actually got it right. It does happen, and there are a few good journalists still out there who care about getting the facts and the issues right. But it's buried under a pile of ignorant rage-baiting slop.
Everything is for sale and meta has the money.
What would justice look like for someone responsible for building something so detrimental to society? What of the employees?
Zuckerberg is a sociopath with a dim view of humanity. He doesn't think people should have privacy. That's why the photo tagging and post visibility issues and the rest of it
He is one, regardless of which side of the political spectrum you follow
These commenters must believe Meta could not win at trial
The indication from the bellwethers is that plaintiffs can win, and Meta can be forced to settle
There are more cases coming down the pipe. When will it end A "win" for Meta would be winning a bellwether, putting uncertainty and doubt in the minds of potential plaintiffs
That still has not happened (one case was dropped)
This is a long game that's only just started
Meta said it was confident it could win the case."
How Meta’s $17.1 Billion Social Media Settlement Came Together | https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/technology/meta-states-se...