Meta Platforms Regulatory Developments

Investments
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Australia plans to toughen social media use for teens as survey finds its measures had little impact

“What we want to do is to make sure that the laws are as strong as possible and that they will withstand any legal challenges which are made,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

A recent survey of 408 adolescents published this week in the British Medical Journal found that 85% of teens aged 12 to 15 are still using social media despite a ban in December.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/australia-considers-tougher-enforcement-of-social-media-ban-for-teens-4761975

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EU Commission asks Meta to change addictive features or risk fines

  • The European Commission issued a preliminary finding that Meta breached the Digital Services Act due to the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook.

  • The commission wants Meta to make its platforms less addictive or risk a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.

    “At this stage of the investigation, the Commission considers that Meta needs to implement design changes to both Instagram and Facebook,” the commission said. For instance, by disabling key addictive features such as ‘autoplay’ and ‘infinite scroll’ by default, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks’, and adapting its recommender system to make it less engagement-oriented."

  • Following the preliminary finding, the Commission has given Meta the opportunity to respond to the allegations.

  • The Commission is expected to receive expert recommendations on Monday that could lay the groundwork for a Europe-wide social media ban for teenagers.

  • Bloomberg already reported on this EU Commission ruling some weeks ago.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1579

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Analysis of the impact of youth-related trials on Meta Platforms
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Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Meta can access WhatsApp chats

The proposed class-action lawsuit was brought by a group of international users.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-24/meta-wins-dismissal-of-suit-over-whatsapp-privacy

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New Zealand plan to ban under-16s from social media

  • The Online Safety Bill seeks to force social media platforms like Meta to take reasonable steps to check users are over the age of 16.
  • Companies that fail to meet their obligations will face penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover.
  • New Zealand joins other countries such as Australia, the U.K., Canada, Spain, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brazil in coming up with laws banning social media for teens.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-24/new-zealand-plans-social-media-ban-for-under-16s

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Australia wants to give users option to opt out of algorithms

  • Australia has proposed a legislation that would allow social media users to opt out of platforms’ algorithms.
  • The proposal would allow users to opt out of algorithmically recommended content and instead choose what appears in their feeds.
  • Breaches of Australia’s proposed law could result in penalties of up to $79 million.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-08/australia-sets-up-new-big-tech-fight-with-bid-to-block-targeting

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California enacts law banning addictive social media features for children under 16

California joins other states such as Utah, Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, Florida and New York that have adopted laws regulating children’s access to social media.

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EU Commission plans to propose a rule that will bar under-15s from social media without parental consent

  • The Commission also plans to propose new safety requirements for online services such as video games and AI chatbots.
  • The bill due to be published on Thursday would also require tech companies to make their digital services safe by design.
  • The proposal comes after the EU Commission asked Meta to change addictive features or risk fines.
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EU Commission unveils social media curbs for teens

  • The EU plans to ban social media for children under 13 and limit older children’s access to technology and AI services as reported earlier.

    “No social media under the age of 13. No personal account under the age of 15,” von der Leyen said. The bloc will permit 13- and 14-year-olds to have accounts with parental supervision and limited features, she added.

  • The draft law would require strict age checks across social media, video platforms, app stores, online games, AI companions, and chatbots.

  • Companies that fail to meet the requirements could face fines of as much as 6% of their annual sales.

  • The Kids Act still requires approval from EU governments and lawmakers, a process that could take years.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-16/eu-unveils-social-media-curbs-for-kids-and-ban-on-users-under-13?srnd=phx-technology

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The State of New Mexico is seeking between $35-$40 billion in the Cambridge Analytica privacy lawsuit

  • On September 25, a jury found that Meta had misled Facebook users about the privacy of their data in a case stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
  • Judge Francis Mathew, who presided over the Santa Fe trial, will this month determine the amount Meta must pay in financial penalties.
  • The jury found Meta violated state’s Unfair Practices Act over 43 million times, which could imply penalty of $219 billion at $5,000 per violation.
  • Meta urged the judge to cap the penalties at $3.45 billion.
  • During the hearing, Judge Mathew appeared skeptical of Meta’s arguments, rejecting comparisons with smaller settlements and noting that companies that choose to go to trial “roll the dice.”

Assessment

Considering that courts normally impose significantly lower penalties than what plaintiffs are seeking, and given that Judge Mathew appears skeptical of some of Meta’s arguments, I think he will likely impose a penalty slightly higher than the $3.45 billion Meta is proposing, perhaps around $5 billion. The good thing is that Meta can appeal the penalty.

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