The landmark $18-billion US lawsuit settlement by Meta Platforms Inc on Wednesday has ignited questions regarding the tech giant’s global accountability, as more complex and far-reaching legal claims remain unheard across the world.
While the social media conglomerate resolved its legal battle in the United States over youth platform addiction, campaign groups and families elsewhere continue to push for deeper reforms to the company’s powerful algorithm, reports The Guardian.
Under the terms of the US settlement, which resolved a lawsuit brought by 29 US states, Meta has agreed to pay $18 billion and modify specific features of its platform in the US.
The states argued that the company designed addictive products that hooked young people. Meta will now introduce time limits on children’s usage of Facebook and Instagram, block night-time access, and ensure that minors will not necessarily have personalised feeds.
California’s Attorney General hailed the agreement as a victory that would make “a world of difference for children and their families”.
A bitter-sweet victory
However, the settlement is also seen as a victory for Meta. Following the announcement, the company’s share price rose, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg was not forced to testify.
Additionally, the $18-billion payout is significantly lower than the $200 billion sought by the states, or the massive $1.4 trillion sum Meta had suggested in a court filing it might be forced to pay. A jury has ultimately achieved what the US Congress could not by placing controls on the powerful technology company.
Despite the regulatory breakthrough in the US, critics argue the concessions do not go far enough. Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Arturo Béjar criticised the measures, comparing them to telling someone they can smoke as many cigarettes as they want within two hours a day. “It doesn’t make the cigarettes any safer,” Béjar remarked.
The limits Meta will impose on its US platform are largely identical to safety measures already achieved through regulation in the UK and Australia. Experts note that other governments may now demand similar concessions.
For example, while the UK plans to ban under-16s from social media platforms, it may request Meta to enforce a default daily use limit of two hours for under-18s, matching the US agreement.
Battle for accountability in Africa
Beyond Western jurisdictions, the broader question of Meta’s unchecked power over a worldwide digital commons remains unresolved.
In East Africa, Abrham Meareg continues his search for justice for his father, a chemistry professor who was shot at close range and died outside his family home in Ethiopia’s northern town of Bahir Dar in October 2021, in the middle of the country’s civil war.
Meareg filed a lawsuit against Meta in Kenya in 2022, supported by Foxglove, a non-profit organisation. They allege that Facebook’s algorithm actively promoted posts calling for the professor’s murder, including his photograph and residential address.
Meareg repeatedly requested Facebook to remove the posts, but the company took no action. Foxglove stated that Meta has “fought tooth and nail to avoid responsibility”. Nearly four years later, the case has still not been heard.
Meareg expressed his frustration at Meta’s corporate apathy. “It’s a matter of numbers to them, a matter of statistics,” he said. “It has been proven multiple times that our lives do not matter to them”.
However, the High Court in Kenya recently ruled that the lawsuit can proceed, meaning it could be heard within the next year. Rosa Curling, Foxglove’s co-executive director, said Meta’s legal team had spent years attempting to prevent the case from being heard.
“We hope that the news from the US is a sign that Mark Zuckerberg’s time is finally up,” Curling said.
Meareg remains determined to hold the company accountable. “They don’t know how I am determined for justice,” he said. “It is the thing you do for the person you love. If you love someone, and I loved my dad from my heart, then he needs justice. He needs a public apology. There has to be accountability”.
European legal pressures
Legal challenges are also mounting in Europe, where the Dutch non-profit organisation Repro Uncensored has labelled the US settlement a “major victory”.
Repro Uncensored, which tracks digital censorship, has an ongoing lawsuit against Meta in the Netherlands over alleged discrimination against queer accounts, and plans further legal actions across other European nations.
Martha Dimitratou, executive director of Repro Uncensored, stated: “The next stage of accountability must address not only addictive design but algorithms, discriminatory moderation and automated decision-making.
These systems shape civic participation and democracy, and the companies controlling them must be held accountable globally”.
Meanwhile, the European Commission issued a formal charge sheet against Meta this summer, alleging that platform features such as “infinite scroll” contribute to “unhealthy habits and compulsive use”.
This charge sheet forms part of an investigation launched in 2024, which could lead to Europe demanding fundamental changes to Meta’s personal algorithm. However, Meta will likely seek the assistance of the Donald Trump administration to oppose any EU regulations that might curb its reach in Europe.
Algorithmic harms, corporate denial
The global lawsuits focus heavily on Meta’s recommender algorithm, which is designed to keep users scrolling to display advertisements.
The algorithm has faced intense scrutiny for amplifying harmful content, including serving anorexia influencers to teenage girls viewing diet content, showing misogynist influencer Andrew Tate to young men searching for bodybuilding, contributing to Donald Trump’s election victory, and amplifying content that promoted the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in Myanmar.
Earlier this year, Meta managed to dodge a class-action lawsuit brought by Rohingya refugees over its role in the Myanmar genocide. While Meta apparently fears US regulators and courts, having caved after just four days of its US trial, it does not appear to be as intimidated by regulators elsewhere.
When asked about the cases brought by Meareg and Repro Uncensored, Meta declined to comment. In previous responses to whistleblower allegations concerning its role in fuelling violence in Ethiopia and Myanmar, Meta pushed back forcefully, stating it was “just not true” that the company prioritises profit over safety.
In relation to Meareg’s case, Meta has stated that it employs staff with local knowledge and expertise to “catch violating content” in Ethiopia.
