Facebook owner Meta has agreed to pay $US18 billion to settle a case brought against it by US states. The money will go to mental health programs for kids. What’s the scam?
The scam is that despite the case holding Facebook responsible for contributing to a “youth mental health crisis” and illegally collecting data on children, not one single Meta executive is held accountable. Nobody will lose their jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg’s yachts and castles are all safe.
In effect, Facebook admitted to deliberately designing features that addict children to its platform and hiding those features from the public (including from parents). The settlement compels the company to end those practices and to implement proper protection mechanisms.
It remains to be seen how effective those measures will be, and the massive settlement amount must be seen in the context of Meta’s current cash holdings of $US90B (as of June 30th), annual revenue of $US200B+, and the $US18B being payable over ten years.
Just the cost of doing business, and shareholders may have expected worse. The share price rose 1% yesterday.
Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.