{"id":4229,"date":"2026-08-27T12:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229"},"modified":"2026-08-27T12:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:34:52","slug":"metas-settlement-with-colorado-appears-to-address-experts-biggest-social-media-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229","title":{"rendered":"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

A settlement between Facebook parent company Meta and most states appears to address social-media features that experts most often blame for worsening young people\u2019s mental health, though the details of the new safety measures are to be determined.<\/p>\n

Read more Gov. Jared Polis pardons 29 Coloradans convicted of crimes<\/a><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 47 states for mental health harm allegedly caused by its products. Colorado\u2019s share will come close to $615 million over the next nine years.<\/p>\n

Colorado and three other states had sued the company, arguing it designed Facebook and Instagram to ensnare young users, then lied to the public about it. The trial in Oakland, California, had been underway, with former employees taking the stand to testify that Meta knew Facebook and Instagram harmed some young people, but didn\u2019t take steps to improve safety.<\/p>\n

Over the last few years, studies have made it increasingly clear that a segment of children and teens are particularly vulnerable to harm from social media, especially those who already had unhealthy body images or compulsive tendencies, said Dr. Joel Stoddard, a psychiatrist at Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado.<\/p>\n

Teens\u2019 brains are wired for seeking new experiences and forming relationships with their peers \u2014 important features for a time when they\u2019re figuring out who they are and where they fit in society, Stoddard said. Social media companies designed their platforms to take advantage of that, making it harder to log off, he said.<\/p>\n

Social media platforms, as they currently exist, can harm youth mental health through showing users content that makes their existing vulnerabilities worse, and by making it harder to disengage, said Sarah Domoff, an assistant professor who teaches a class on the topic at the State University of New York at Albany.<\/p>\n

The effects worsen if teens are scrolling late at night, or in place of getting exercise or in-person socialization, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just what you see, but when you see it, and if it\u2019s crowding out things that are so important to mental health, like sleep,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Internal documents uncovered by The Wall Street Journal showed that Meta knew Instagram was harmful to a portion of teen girls and that about one in eight Facebook users used the platform to the point of interfering with sleep or work.<\/p>\n

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Wednesday described the settlement as justice for young people who experienced mental health harm and their families, as well as a possible blueprint for future agreements with other companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey harvested data to make money and told the public there was nothing to worry about,\u201d Weiser said at a news conference. \u201cThey put profits ahead of public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the settlement, Meta agreed to do more to verify users\u2019 ages, preventing children from opening accounts and placing guardrails around teens, such as better parental controls, automatic blocks of content focused on topics such as eating disorders and self-harm, hiding \u201clikes\u201d to discourage comparison with others and limiting beauty filters.<\/p>\n

Read more How the Trump administration is expanding its immigration crackdown to people entering legally<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

It also will set a two-hour \u201chard cap\u201d on teens\u2019 combined daily use of Facebook and Instagram, with mandatory pauses after 15 minutes, one hour and 90 minutes. The company agreed to lower the cap to one hour if Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube do the same.<\/p>\n

The apps won\u2019t send push notifications to teens between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays during the school year and would block them from accessing content between midnight and 6 a.m.<\/p>\n

States agreed to spend the settlement money on youth mental health \u2014 a broad category that will allow for significant variation from place to place. An independent auditor will check if Meta is fulfilling its obligations, but doesn\u2019t have the power to enforce more changes if teens are still struggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith respect to whether it had the intended effect, that\u2019s a societal challenge we\u2019ll have to take on,\u201d Weiser said. \u201cWe need to address social media because it has been part of the problem\u201d of poor youth mental health.<\/p>\n

Meta faced two recent court losses, though before Wednesday\u2019s settlement, the company had said it will appeal both. A California jury found it liable for mental health problems a young woman suffered after using social media compulsively as a child, awarding her $6 million. The jury also found YouTube owner Google liable, though the majority of the financial penalty fell on Meta.<\/p>\n

In a separate trial in New Mexico, jurors assessed penalties of $375 million after finding Meta allowed child exploitation to continue on its apps and attempted to cover up the problem. A judge later added an additional $567 million fine and ordered Meta to put time restrictions in place for underage users, without setting a deadline.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s estimated value is around $1.5 trillion.<\/p>\n

Most experts don\u2019t call for banning youth from social media altogether, since it can be a place for marginalized people to find support they aren\u2019t getting in-person. Domoff, the professor in New York, said the first step toward a healthier relationship with the platforms is to assess whether they\u2019re supporting or harming someone\u2019s mental health, and if they\u2019re replacing other things the person values.<\/p>\n

For most people, a small amount of time on social media leads to greater connection with others, Stoddard said. But that leaves parents in a difficult position, trying to enforce limits on something designed to be hard to put down, he said. Typically, it goes best when parents and teens can agree on certain phone-free times or places, such as the dinner table or the bedroom while sleeping.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a society-made issue that\u2019s imposed on families,\u201d he said. \u201cParenting is hard enough without this added layer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get health news sent straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Today in History: August 27, Barack Obama becomes first Black presidential nominee by a major political party<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A settlement between Facebook parent company Meta and most states appears to address social-media features that experts blame for worsening young people\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMeta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A settlement between Facebook parent company Meta and most states appears to address social-media features that experts blame for worsening young people\u2019s mental health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-27T12:34:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T12:34:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229\"},\"wordCount\":1019,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229\",\"name\":\"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T12:34:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1333},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=4229#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"A settlement between Facebook parent company Meta and most states appears to address social-media features that experts blame for worsening young people\u2019s mental health.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-08-27T12:34:52+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns","datePublished":"2026-08-27T12:34:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229"},"wordCount":1019,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp","articleSection":["Health","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229","name":"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-27T12:34:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5f1010af397f26ff3385c191b7192e18.webp","width":2000,"height":1333},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4229#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meta\u2019s settlement with Colorado appears to address experts\u2019 biggest social media concerns"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}