A recent US$18 billion settlement between Meta and a coalition of US state attorneys-general has drawn comparisons to the legal strategies employed by tobacco companies three decades ago. Observers note that both industries have utilized similar defensive tactics, including the concealment of internal research regarding product harm and a focus on maintaining access to younger demographics.

The Meta agreement mandates specific design modifications for teenage users, such as implementing night-mode access blocks and two-hour usage limits. However, critics suggest these concessions mirror the 1998 tobacco settlement, which restricted advertising involving cartoons and minors while leaving the core business model and adult-targeted marketing—which often influences youth—largely untouched. In both instances, the companies avoided admitting to wrongdoing or addiction, treating financial penalties as manageable operating costs rather than existential threats.

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Internal documents unsealed during the Meta litigation revealed that the company was aware of negative impacts on teenage users, including body image issues and the amplification of suicidal ideation. This mirrors the history of the tobacco industry, where internal files from the 1950s showed executives were aware of health risks while publicly denying them. Legal analysts argue that Meta’s design features, such as infinite scrolling and constant notifications, are engineered to cultivate dependence in adolescent brains, similar to how tobacco companies historically manipulated nicotine chemistry.

Financial analysts have noted that the US$18 billion settlement represents a small fraction of Meta’s revenue, with annual payments estimated to account for only a few days of the company's global trading income. While the US approach focuses on settlements and compliance, some experts point to Australia’s legislative efforts to ban social media for those under 16 as a more direct attempt to disrupt the acquisition of young users, a strategy that historically proved effective in reducing smoking rates.

Source: The Conversation