A Historic Settlement Over Social Media Addiction

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<p>Meta, the world’s biggest social media company, reached a multibillion-dollar legal settlement on Wednesday over claims that its technology was addictive to children.</p> <p>The company agreed to impose major changes to how minors use its products.</p> <p>Cecilia Kang, a technology reporter for The New York Times, explains why a company that almost never backs down finally cut a deal, and whether this will start a new era of accountability for Big Tech.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/cecilia-kang" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Cecilia Kang</strong></a>, a reporter covering technology and regulatory policy for The New York Times.</p> <p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/technology/meta-settlement-social-media-addiction-lawsuit.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Meta will pay up to $17.1 billion</a> over claims of social media addiction.</li> <li>A movement to restrict social media for children <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/world/americas/children-social-media-restrictions-global-movement-meta.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has taken hold globally</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Jason Henry for The New York Times</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>