Meta's $18 billion wake-up call, how the UAE got there first and being a thankful dad

$18 billion. Eighteen billion dollars. $18,000,000,000. Yes, that’s nine zeroes after the 18. It’s a number that is hard to comprehend even when written down in various ways. That's what Meta has agreed to pay to settle claims from 29 US states that it built Instagram and Facebook to hook children. 

While signing those cheques, the company isn't admitting it did anything wrong. Corporate settlements rarely do; it's the legal equivalent of paying for the neighbour's very expensive window after insisting your football never went near it. But the company has agreed to daily time limits for teen accounts and a raft of product changes.

Let’s put that huge pile of cash to one side (imagine how big those dollar bills would be stacked up) and focus on the tech bit, as it’s what will change the future for millions of people. It’s quite rare that a trillion-dollar company starts redesigning its algorithms because of 29 attorneys. This is an industry admitting, very expensively, that it built something that it is struggling to defend.

Back here in the UAE, we can watch this unfold with the satisfaction of a kid who did their homework early thanks to the intervention of the government. While American courtrooms were arguing over whether infinite scroll counts as a design flaw or a business model, those in power in our country were busy issuing a rule that anyone under 15 can't hold a personal social media account here, full stop. Even 15 and 16-year-olds will get the digital equivalent of training wheels. There’ll be no open DMs with strangers, no midnight scrolling marathons, no algorithm quietly deciding that a teenager’s 2am rabbit hole is ‘engagement’. Parental consent doesn't buy you an exception, neither does a fake birthdate. Platforms have twelve months to prove they can tell the difference between a child and an adult - or face the regulators.

Other countries across the globe are putting similar controls in place as the evidence of social media’s negative impact on young people mounts up. All of these countries may feel a little smug watching the hearings in the USA, but the reality is they are different sides of the same story. While America uses lawsuits, countries such as the UAE are going for prevention. The mammoth payout by Meta is making big headlines across the globe but I would argue that it is less impactful than the more meaningful steps being taken here to protect our young people.

I realise that I write this as the editor of a media brand. Yes, we use social media platforms to engage readers across the globe but I like to think we do so by giving valuable news and information, rather than mindless dross. It has reminded me how important trusted, fact-checked and reliable ‘content’ is in a world of clickbait, ragebait and AI slop.

I also write this as a parent who is genuinely concerned about the current and future impact of the fast changes in media. I have seen the instant impact social media has on my boys. I’ve seen their vacant expressions and their mood swings after consuming too many videos. I’ve also seen how they crave the dopamine these platforms provide.

I must also confess that I haven’t done a good enough job keeping them away from these platforms. That is on me. We can point to platforms doing things that may hurt our children, but we still have the responsibility to check what they are up to and if it is having a positive impact on their lives. I’m actually very thankful that the new laws coming into place make my life easier. It isn’t just dad telling them to stop, it’s the government.

None of this means our teenagers are suddenly safe from every corner of the internet, and it certainly doesn't mean Silicon Valley has had a genuine change of heart rather than a change of legal exposure. Companies rarely redesign products out of love; they redesign them when the alternative costs more. But that's fine. We don't need Meta to feel bad. We need it to build better guardrails, and if an $18 billion invoice is what does the persuading, so be it.

The real test, on both sides of the world, is whether any of this survives contact with the next shiny new app that nobody's regulated yet. Algorithms and AI don’t wait for permission. Watch this space - and keep your children’s screentime open in your other tab.