4 ms·

Mark Zuckerberg's Social Reckoning

45 points by fortran77 1mo ago

dmix 1mo ago
The only outcome I see from the Meta ruling is all of the other platforms getting spooked by the huge payout and starting to preemptively add aggressive age-gating and ID checks on everything on the internet (regardless of local legislation).
- downrightmike 1mo ago
  Parents really need to parent
  - ares623 1mo ago
    won't someone think of the corporations and CEOs
  - mschuster91 1mo ago
    How? Between 11 hours of work+commute, 8 hours of sleep and 2 hours of work-adjacent activities such as making food or household chores... there isn't that much time left in a day. That's also the reason why so many people don't have children any more, or only later in their life when they are economically settled.
    - winrid 1mo ago
      People worked that hard when families often had 3 or more kids. The difference is one parent could afford to not work. We've let corporations "optimize" that away.
    - dmix 1mo ago
      Phones have had parental controls already built in forever. My sister is a busy executive who commutes daily and she didn't let her kid have a phone until age 13, and when they bought an Android phone they signed up for one of the (many) existing parental monitoring apps. Which for ex will notify the parent when their child gets messaged from a new person not in their existing curated contact list. So their phone is only used contacting their close friends at school. Parental monitoring and controlling usage on sites like Youtube and Facebook is a long solved problem, if the parent put any basic effort in.
      - ytoawwhra92 1mo ago
        > Phones have had parental controls already built in forever. Most of them don't work as advertised. > Parental monitoring and controlling usage on sites like Youtube and Facebook is a long solved problem, if the parent put any basic effort in. How old are your kids?
    - trhway 1mo ago
      I think the reason may be generational. The current parents are majority Millenials, the generation which didn't have to shoulder a lot of personal responsibility like previous generations. Thus when it comes to their children they as usually place the responsibility on anybody but themselves. Both parents working actually i think is a net-good thing - it teaches children to be responsible from early age. As my parents were both working - USSR - even when i was 5 years old i was already watching my 1 year old sister. And we were pretty typical at that.
      - ytoawwhra92 1mo ago
        Governments require age verification to drive a car, purchase alcohol and other dangerous products, enter adult venues, and in various other scenarios. Why not for accessing Internet properties that are just as harmful?
        mschuster91 1mo ago
        > Governments require age verification to drive a car, purchase alcohol and other dangerous products, enter adult venues, and in various other scenarios. On paper. In practice... especially in rural areas not filled to the brim with busybodies, enforcement is spotty or limited to excessive, inappropriate morons.
      - folkrav 1mo ago
        > Millenials, the generation which didn't have to shoulder a lot of personal responsibility like previous generations Please expand on this, cause holy fuck couldn't it less apply to my experience educating - then raising my own - kids.
  - wpietri 1mo ago
    Society depends upon having generation after generation of healthy members. That has never been a time when individual parents were sufficient to solve all the problems there. And even that were possible, directing all the attention on them acts to absolve Meta of all responsibility for their own actions. If we're going to promote a policy of personal responsibility, let's at least look at all the persons involved.
- rimeice 1mo ago
  “Other platforms” - social media sites? If so this != “everything on the internet”
  - dmix 1mo ago
    Social media encompasses most the internet usage yes (including Youtube/Google). Plus ChatGPT, Discord, Twitch, messaging apps, porn sites, Reddit, Netix, image sharing sites, etc.. basically any major B2C category
  - pibaker 1mo ago
    Your definition of what is a social media site may differ from the definition of someone who has an axe to grind against you and take you and your phpbb forum to court.
- bossyTeacher 1mo ago
  What other platforms (I think you mean social media) exist in the West? It's just Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and whatever company manages the western Tik Tok. Luckily, they are easy to stay away from. There is more to the internet than these 2 companies.
  - Arainach 1mo ago
    > There is more to the internet than these 2 companies. Not as much as most people think. A huge percentage of the physical world runs through these platforms - and if you add Twitter it gets even worse. Plenty of groups I follow communicate exclusively through social media channels. If you want to know what events are happening there - in some cases even what hours they're open - it's through Facebook or Instagram. For things which aren't formal businesses (photo clubs, bar popups, all sorts of things) it's even more prevalent. Sure, if I want to sit in my house and discuss philosphy on Hacker News or IRC those exist, but it is very difficult to avoid Meta's platforms and have a social life - much less a dating life.
  - polyomino 1mo ago
    Youtube is the big one called out in this settlement
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1mo ago
    > There is more to the internet than these 2 companies. To many people, the Internet is Facebook. Back in the day, the same people considered AOL to be the Internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbyYGrswtg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbyYGrswtg
enahs-sf 1mo ago
https://archive.is/5Rlva https://archive.is/5Rlva
anukin 1mo ago
This settlement benefits meta immensely. Are the journalists reading the correct judgement? The stock pretty much had a breakout when this news came out.
- trhway 1mo ago
  Like in "Chicago" they should have prepared 2 versions of the article, yet i guess they had only one.
- paulpauper 1mo ago
  Meta stock is up $400 since 2016-2018, when "teen mental health" first became a concern. It's clear that META has boomed since then. Fines have amounted to little more than a cost of doing business. Stern words amount to no more than empty threats.
- ceejayoz 1mo ago
  It's another case of people struggling with huge numbers. We just aren't prepared to tackle millions/billions/trillions very well.
  - wpietri 1mo ago
    I'm ok with generic people struggling with that. But anybody covering tech or business should be able to work effectively with the numbers at hand. Anything less is journalistic malpractice.
    - psunavy03 1mo ago
      There's arguably more journalistic malpractice going on than actual journalism. Think back to anything you can speak to with some authority, personally or professionally. Think of the last time a reporter actually got it right. It does happen, and there are a few good journalists still out there who care about getting the facts and the issues right. But it's buried under a pile of ignorant rage-baiting slop.
      - 1mo ago
samename 1mo ago
What reckoning? The settlement benefits Meta immensely. They just got the go ahead to implement age-gating at a wide scale, which will make their ad platform even more lucrative after each account can be tied back to a real identifiable person. They've totally captured the regulatory system, and the media is applauding it.
- A_D_E_P_T 1mo ago
  It was a clear win for Meta. > https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/27/meta-social-media-settlement-18bn-us-child-safety-big-tech-lawsuits https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/27/meta-s... > That $18bn is certainly more than most companies could pay, but it pales in comparison with the $1.5tn Meta’s own PR team warned the case could cost it had it gone through the courts – and the more realistic $200bn the prosecuting lawyers sought to squeeze from the firm. The consensus opinion was that the case would have cost them a lot more if it hadn't settled. Truly, the outcome couldn't have been more favorable to Meta. "Reckoning" -- yeah, right.
- JuniperMesos 1mo ago
  Meta's stock price went up on the news, which I took to be a sign of the settlement costing less than investors feared it would when they previously priced meta stock. I didn't think about the regulatory capture angle.
  - paulpauper 1mo ago
    META makes so much money that this is immaterial. It's insane how profitable this company is
    - alex1138 1mo ago
      And yet the vast majority of it is fraud
- echelon 1mo ago
  This is the correct read. Meta is pushing forward every measure it can to record precise identity, age, and income with everything that you do. They're the ones behind the push for internet porn ID laws. They're the ones behind the push for device attestation. They're the ones behind the push for social media ID requirements. They make more money, we lose freedom and privacy and sleep closer and closer to 1984. One day the state will punish us for our ideas and associations. They already do to an extent, but it's going to get unbearable once the machinery is in place. Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists - everyone should oppose this.
lisp2240 1mo ago
[flagged]
- winrid 1mo ago
  Are you referencing people that killed themselves because someone was mean to them on social media, or something more??
  - wellthisisgreat 1mo ago
    Probably Rohingya genocide ?
rozal 1mo ago
[dead]
jazzpush2 1mo ago
There is still yet no reckoning for Zuckerberg nor the people who choose to work for Meta. What would justice look like for someone responsible for building something so detrimental to society? What of the employees?
- baron3dl 1mo ago
  Maximilien Robespierre.
  - cindyllm 1mo ago
    [dead]
amazingamazing 1mo ago
Why settle. No confidence?
marten31 1mo ago
[dead]
lee_ward 1mo ago
My feed's been an absolute dumpster fire since 2016. Reckoning feels long overdue for the platform's architects.
- alex1138 1mo ago
  2010 for me. I mean they're continually fucking around with privacy settings. It shows. Things show up all the time that people didn't approve of/vet Zuckerberg is a sociopath with a dim view of humanity. He doesn't think people should have privacy. That's why the photo tagging and post visibility issues and the rest of it He is one, regardless of which side of the political spectrum you follow
1vuio0pswjnm7 1mo ago
HN commenters who suggest this settlement was a "win" for Meta are implying Meta stood to lose more by not settling These commenters must believe Meta could not win at trial The indication from the bellwethers is that plaintiffs can win, and Meta can be forced to settle There are more cases coming down the pipe. When will it end A "win" for Meta would be winning a bellwether, putting uncertainty and doubt in the minds of potential plaintiffs That still has not happened (one case was dropped) This is a long game that's only just started
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 1mo ago
  "Meta still faces thousands of other suits filed by teenagers, families and school districts. The next major personal injury trial is scheduled to be heard in California Superior Court of Los Angeles County in October. Meta said it was confident it could win the case." How Meta’s $17.1 Billion Social Media Settlement Came Together | https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/technology/meta-states-settlement.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/technology/meta-states-se...

45 points by fortran77 1mo ago

dmix 1mo ago

The only outcome I see from the Meta ruling is all of the other platforms getting spooked by the huge payout and starting to preemptively add aggressive age-gating and ID checks on everything on the internet (regardless of local legislation).

downrightmike 1mo ago
Parents really need to parent
- ares623 1mo ago
  won't someone think of the corporations and CEOs
- mschuster91 1mo ago
  How? Between 11 hours of work+commute, 8 hours of sleep and 2 hours of work-adjacent activities such as making food or household chores... there isn't that much time left in a day. That's also the reason why so many people don't have children any more, or only later in their life when they are economically settled.
  - winrid 1mo ago
    People worked that hard when families often had 3 or more kids. The difference is one parent could afford to not work. We've let corporations "optimize" that away.
  - dmix 1mo ago
    Phones have had parental controls already built in forever. My sister is a busy executive who commutes daily and she didn't let her kid have a phone until age 13, and when they bought an Android phone they signed up for one of the (many) existing parental monitoring apps. Which for ex will notify the parent when their child gets messaged from a new person not in their existing curated contact list. So their phone is only used contacting their close friends at school. Parental monitoring and controlling usage on sites like Youtube and Facebook is a long solved problem, if the parent put any basic effort in.
    - ytoawwhra92 1mo ago
      > Phones have had parental controls already built in forever. Most of them don't work as advertised. > Parental monitoring and controlling usage on sites like Youtube and Facebook is a long solved problem, if the parent put any basic effort in. How old are your kids?
  - trhway 1mo ago
    I think the reason may be generational. The current parents are majority Millenials, the generation which didn't have to shoulder a lot of personal responsibility like previous generations. Thus when it comes to their children they as usually place the responsibility on anybody but themselves. Both parents working actually i think is a net-good thing - it teaches children to be responsible from early age. As my parents were both working - USSR - even when i was 5 years old i was already watching my 1 year old sister. And we were pretty typical at that.
    - ytoawwhra92 1mo ago
      Governments require age verification to drive a car, purchase alcohol and other dangerous products, enter adult venues, and in various other scenarios. Why not for accessing Internet properties that are just as harmful?
      - mschuster91 1mo ago
        > Governments require age verification to drive a car, purchase alcohol and other dangerous products, enter adult venues, and in various other scenarios. On paper. In practice... especially in rural areas not filled to the brim with busybodies, enforcement is spotty or limited to excessive, inappropriate morons.
    - folkrav 1mo ago
      > Millenials, the generation which didn't have to shoulder a lot of personal responsibility like previous generations Please expand on this, cause holy fuck couldn't it less apply to my experience educating - then raising my own - kids.
- wpietri 1mo ago
  Society depends upon having generation after generation of healthy members. That has never been a time when individual parents were sufficient to solve all the problems there. And even that were possible, directing all the attention on them acts to absolve Meta of all responsibility for their own actions. If we're going to promote a policy of personal responsibility, let's at least look at all the persons involved.
rimeice 1mo ago
“Other platforms” - social media sites? If so this != “everything on the internet”
- dmix 1mo ago
  Social media encompasses most the internet usage yes (including Youtube/Google). Plus ChatGPT, Discord, Twitch, messaging apps, porn sites, Reddit, Netix, image sharing sites, etc.. basically any major B2C category
- pibaker 1mo ago
  Your definition of what is a social media site may differ from the definition of someone who has an axe to grind against you and take you and your phpbb forum to court.
bossyTeacher 1mo ago
What other platforms (I think you mean social media) exist in the West? It's just Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and whatever company manages the western Tik Tok. Luckily, they are easy to stay away from. There is more to the internet than these 2 companies.
- Arainach 1mo ago
  > There is more to the internet than these 2 companies. Not as much as most people think. A huge percentage of the physical world runs through these platforms - and if you add Twitter it gets even worse. Plenty of groups I follow communicate exclusively through social media channels. If you want to know what events are happening there - in some cases even what hours they're open - it's through Facebook or Instagram. For things which aren't formal businesses (photo clubs, bar popups, all sorts of things) it's even more prevalent. Sure, if I want to sit in my house and discuss philosphy on Hacker News or IRC those exist, but it is very difficult to avoid Meta's platforms and have a social life - much less a dating life.
- polyomino 1mo ago
  Youtube is the big one called out in this settlement
- ChrisMarshallNY 1mo ago
  > There is more to the internet than these 2 companies. To many people, the Internet is Facebook. Back in the day, the same people considered AOL to be the Internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbyYGrswtg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbyYGrswtg

enahs-sf 1mo ago

https://archive.is/5Rlva https://archive.is/5Rlva

anukin 1mo ago

This settlement benefits meta immensely. Are the journalists reading the correct judgement? The stock pretty much had a breakout when this news came out.

trhway 1mo ago
Like in "Chicago" they should have prepared 2 versions of the article, yet i guess they had only one.
paulpauper 1mo ago
Meta stock is up $400 since 2016-2018, when "teen mental health" first became a concern. It's clear that META has boomed since then. Fines have amounted to little more than a cost of doing business. Stern words amount to no more than empty threats.
ceejayoz 1mo ago
It's another case of people struggling with huge numbers. We just aren't prepared to tackle millions/billions/trillions very well.
- wpietri 1mo ago
  I'm ok with generic people struggling with that. But anybody covering tech or business should be able to work effectively with the numbers at hand. Anything less is journalistic malpractice.
  - psunavy03 1mo ago
    There's arguably more journalistic malpractice going on than actual journalism. Think back to anything you can speak to with some authority, personally or professionally. Think of the last time a reporter actually got it right. It does happen, and there are a few good journalists still out there who care about getting the facts and the issues right. But it's buried under a pile of ignorant rage-baiting slop.
    - 1mo ago

samename 1mo ago

What reckoning? The settlement benefits Meta immensely. They just got the go ahead to implement age-gating at a wide scale, which will make their ad platform even more lucrative after each account can be tied back to a real identifiable person. They've totally captured the regulatory system, and the media is applauding it.

A_D_E_P_T 1mo ago
It was a clear win for Meta. > https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/27/meta-social-media-settlement-18bn-us-child-safety-big-tech-lawsuits https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/27/meta-s... > That $18bn is certainly more than most companies could pay, but it pales in comparison with the $1.5tn Meta’s own PR team warned the case could cost it had it gone through the courts – and the more realistic $200bn the prosecuting lawyers sought to squeeze from the firm. The consensus opinion was that the case would have cost them a lot more if it hadn't settled. Truly, the outcome couldn't have been more favorable to Meta. "Reckoning" -- yeah, right.
JuniperMesos 1mo ago
Meta's stock price went up on the news, which I took to be a sign of the settlement costing less than investors feared it would when they previously priced meta stock. I didn't think about the regulatory capture angle.
- paulpauper 1mo ago
  META makes so much money that this is immaterial. It's insane how profitable this company is
  - alex1138 1mo ago
    And yet the vast majority of it is fraud
echelon 1mo ago
This is the correct read. Meta is pushing forward every measure it can to record precise identity, age, and income with everything that you do. They're the ones behind the push for internet porn ID laws. They're the ones behind the push for device attestation. They're the ones behind the push for social media ID requirements. They make more money, we lose freedom and privacy and sleep closer and closer to 1984. One day the state will punish us for our ideas and associations. They already do to an extent, but it's going to get unbearable once the machinery is in place. Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists - everyone should oppose this.

lisp2240 1mo ago

[flagged]

winrid 1mo ago
Are you referencing people that killed themselves because someone was mean to them on social media, or something more??
- wellthisisgreat 1mo ago
  Probably Rohingya genocide ?

rozal 1mo ago

[dead]

jazzpush2 1mo ago

There is still yet no reckoning for Zuckerberg nor the people who choose to work for Meta. What would justice look like for someone responsible for building something so detrimental to society? What of the employees?

baron3dl 1mo ago
Maximilien Robespierre.
- cindyllm 1mo ago
  [dead]

amazingamazing 1mo ago

Why settle. No confidence?

marten31 1mo ago

[dead]

lee_ward 1mo ago

My feed's been an absolute dumpster fire since 2016. Reckoning feels long overdue for the platform's architects.

alex1138 1mo ago
2010 for me. I mean they're continually fucking around with privacy settings. It shows. Things show up all the time that people didn't approve of/vet Zuckerberg is a sociopath with a dim view of humanity. He doesn't think people should have privacy. That's why the photo tagging and post visibility issues and the rest of it He is one, regardless of which side of the political spectrum you follow

1vuio0pswjnm7 1mo ago

HN commenters who suggest this settlement was a "win" for Meta are implying Meta stood to lose more by not settling These commenters must believe Meta could not win at trial The indication from the bellwethers is that plaintiffs can win, and Meta can be forced to settle There are more cases coming down the pipe. When will it end A "win" for Meta would be winning a bellwether, putting uncertainty and doubt in the minds of potential plaintiffs That still has not happened (one case was dropped) This is a long game that's only just started

1vuio0pswjnm7 1mo ago
"Meta still faces thousands of other suits filed by teenagers, families and school districts. The next major personal injury trial is scheduled to be heard in California Superior Court of Los Angeles County in October. Meta said it was confident it could win the case." How Meta’s $17.1 Billion Social Media Settlement Came Together | https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/technology/meta-states-settlement.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/technology/meta-states-se...