Mass. AG’s Meta Settlement Is A Key Step Forward For Youth Health

The Boston Globe
Glen Weiner
September 23, 2026

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell is right that her office’s recent settlement with Meta matters (“Big Tech built social media for kids. Now it must protect them,” Opinion, Sept 14). The landmark agreement Massachusetts and dozens of other states reached with Meta strengthens protections for young people online and empowers parents.

New safeguards, including expanded content controls, options to disable autoplay, screen-time limits, parental supervision tools, limits on likes, and restrictions on extreme filters, will make a major difference.

New research from the Coalition to Empower our Future found that 81 percent of parents nationwide support the plan and strongly believe these measures will improve youth mental health; 84 percent want the protections to go further, saying platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat should adopt the same protections. Parents want consistent guardrails no matter the platform.

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