Why social media harms are hard to regulate
Meta and other social media platforms face lawsuits alleging they foster addictive use among young people. Now regulators are struggling to rein in their engagement-driven business models.
Recent legal battles and global regulatory efforts aim to curb the alleged addictive and harmful effects of social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. These platforms generate massive profits through user engagement tactics, including endless scrolling, personalized recommendations, and notifications. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, earned $196.2 billion in advertising revenue last year, fueling calls for stricter regulations.
Lawsuits against Meta from 29 US states, including California, Colorado, and New Jersey, allege that the company designed its platforms to addict young users. The proposed settlement could impose a $18 billion penalty and enforce usage limits. Despite efforts to tighten rules, policymakers struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology.
Studies link social media use in teenagers to increased anxiety, depression, and body dissatisfaction. Meta documents from 2021 revealed that researchers identified links between Instagram use and body-image and mental health concerns in teenage girls. Market intelligence indicates that US teens spent about 90 minutes daily on TikTok in 2025.
Amnesty International's 2023 tests found that the platform's algorithm can recommend depression- and self-harm-related content to users engaging with mental health topics. Experts argue that companies operating at this scale must adhere to safety standards similar to those applied to other products such as cars, medications, and children's toys.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) in the US and similar proposals in other countries aim to impose stronger safety settings and parental controls. However, critics push for social media products to be treated as consumer goods under product-liability rules. In Germany, a psychology professor found that more than half of adults and two-thirds of adolescents would pay for a public-service version of popular social media platforms with stronger safeguards.
Nonetheless, experts warn that these alternatives may not replace the most popular platforms. Furthermore, social media platforms fund extensive AI projects, raising concerns about the potential impact of AI on human thought, behavior, and relationships, as flawed practices from social media may be replicated in AI products.
Written by urgent.news from DW News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
