Bloomberg Surveillance · Thursday, August 27, 2026
Meta has agreed to a settlement potentially worth up to $18 billion concerning child safety on its platforms, including new guardrails like time limits for younger users. A portion of the settlement is contingent on competitors such as TikTok and YouTube adopting similar measures, a structure that Professor Stuart Benjamin believes benefits Meta by pressuring rivals.
“This is a major breakthrough because when it comes to protecting our children's mental. Health, there is no time to lose.”
“The agreement requiring Meta to put new guardrails on its platforms, including time limits for younger users. A portion of the settlement is dependent on competitors like TikTok and YouTube agreeing to play by the same rules.”
“Meta is the third most popular of these platforms. YouTube, far and away the most popular among minors. Then TikTok, then Meta. So from their standpoint, they love to be able to say, it's not just the other five billion. We will have a one-hour cap instead of a two-hour cap on limits only if our competitors have similar caps. Well, that hurts their competitors more than it hurts them.”