Heckwood
The Daily

A Historic Settlement Over Social Media Addiction

Aug 27, 2026 · 28m 9s
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About this episode

Meta, the world’s biggest social media company, reached a multibillion-dollar legal settlement on Wednesday over claims that its technology was addictive to children. The company agreed to impose major changes to how minors use its products. Cecilia Kang, a technology reporter for The New York Times, explains why a company that almost never backs down finally cut a deal, and whether this will start a new era of accountability for Big Tech. Guest: Cecilia Kang , a reporter covering technology and regulatory policy for The New York Times. Background reading: Meta will pay up to $17.1 billion over claims of social media addiction. A movement to restrict social media for children has taken hold globally . Photo: Jason Henry for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher . For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Historic Settlement Over Social Media Addiction — Heckwood