An $18 billion settlement for addictive social media design: the work for health policy starts now
Ilona Kickbusch, Louise Holly, Barbara Prainsack · 2026
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Description
Ilona Kickbusch, Louise Holly, and Barbara Prainsack wrote a 2026 essay on a large court deal over social media design. In August 2026, Meta agreed to pay up to 18 billion dollars to end claims from 29 state law chiefs. The claims said the firm built its apps to hook young users and took the harm to teen minds in stride.
The deal funds youth mind health work and brings curbs such as a two-hour daily cap for teens and blocked night access. The team likens the deal to the 1998 tobacco pact, where courts acted after harm was known and hid. Suits pay after the fact, they argue, and health policy should act first on a guard-first rule. The real work for health policy, they say, starts now.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Ilona Kickbusch, Louise Holly, Barbara Prainsack |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 6 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |