A parent whose child was lost due to social media harm is criticizing Mark Zuckerberg for Meta's role in killing legislation that would have protected minors from online harms. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) had broad bipartisan support and passed the Senate 91-3, but was blocked by House opposition backed by Meta lobbying efforts. Meta spent nearly $6 million on federal lobbying in just two quarters of this year, with an average daily expenditure of around $66,000. The author advocates for Zuckerberg to publicly support the KOSA legislation, which would establish industry-wide standards and a duty of care for online platforms to prevent social media addiction and harm to minors.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to a settlement with 47 states and Washington D.C. worth up to $17.1 billion. The settlement resolves claims that features on Instagram and Facebook encouraged compulsive use among children, contributing to mental health harms. As part of the agreement, Meta will make significant changes to its platforms, including implementing default two-hour daily limits, a midnight-to-6 a.m. Night Access Mode, and limiting certain features such as filters and algorithmic feeds.
This settlement marks a major shift in how social media companies are held accountable for their impact on users' mental health. While some see it as a step in the right direction, others argue that therapy is not the best use of funds from this settlement, and that $420 million should be directed towards addressing underlying issues rather than just treating symptoms.
The agreement also highlights concerns about social media addiction, with some likening it to a form of "digital tobacco", where companies prioritize profits over user safety. This has sparked renewed calls for regulation and stricter safeguards on social media use, particularly among children.
Written for “Social Media and Teen Safety Concerns” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
I would love to think that Mark Zuckerberg saw the light.
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Zuckerberg → love → light
Meta, Zuckerberg’s massive tech company that owns Facebook and Instagram, agreed to a $17 billion settlement with 47 state attorneys general who had sued the company for deliberately addicting children to its products.
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who → own → products
In addition to the financial penalties, Meta agreed to implement features that would support youth mental health, such as a default daily time limit of two hours, alongside nighttime blocking features, for users under 18.
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that → agree → 18
These protections would end after five years.
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protections → end → years
If industry peers TikTok and YouTube adopt identical measures, the protections would extend to 10 years.
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protections → adopt → years
Even Meta seems to realize that the settlement does not fully address the problem.
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settlement → seem → problem
A Meta official told reporters, “I think legislation would have been the best answer to this issue.
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legislation → tell → issue
It would be better to have this done by a legislature, which can immediately bind all of our competitors to the same rules.”
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which → have → rules
The official added that “we didn’t get there this Congress” with the Kids Online Safety Act but that “this deal is designed to lead us to basically the same place.”
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deal → add → place
As a parent who lost a child to a social media harm and has been advocating basic safety reforms for years, I have watched Meta lobby against common-sense legislation such as the KOSA.
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Meta → lose → KOSA
If it weren’t for Meta and Zuckerberg, we would already have the legislation and industry standards they say they now support.
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they → have → legislation
The KOSA has always enjoyed broad, bipartisan support in Congress.
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KOSA → enjoy → Congress
But after the KOSA passed the Senate 91-3 in 2024, Zuckerberg and his colleagues helped kill the bill in the House.
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Zuckerberg → pass → House
Their moves to crush it have continued this Congress.
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moves → crush → Congress
In just the second quarter of 2026, Meta spent nearly $6 million on federal lobbying — an average of approximately $66,000 per day.
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Meta → spend → day
The KOSA would create the industry standards that Meta now says we need.
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we → create → that
More importantly, it would create a duty of care for online platforms to ensure that the design of their products does not cause social media addiction or other serious and fatal harms to minors.
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design → create → minors
Contrary to the Meta official’s assertion, Congress is very much still in session this year, and there is still time to pass the KOSA, which has passed through the House this year and just advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee in July.
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which → be → July
Recently, the organization I helped found to advocate online safety, ParentsSOS, sent a letter to Zuckerberg inviting him to join us in our fight to pass the KOSA.
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I → help → KOSA
Zuckerberg should stop lobbying against the KOSA, publicly pledge his support for the legislation, and share his support with President Donald Trump and leaders in Congress.
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Zuckerberg → stop → Congress
That would make a huge difference in creating long-lasting, industry-wide standards to protect all children on all platforms.
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That → make → platforms
For seven years, I have been mourning the loss of my 15-year-old son, Mason, who died after attempting a dangerous viral challenge that the YouTube algorithm fed him unsolicited.
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algorithm → mourn → him
Parents often hear that it’s their responsibility to protect their children online.
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it → hear → children
And I believed that.
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I → believe → that
I was the engaged parent who did everything the experts advised.
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experts → do → everything
I turned on every safety feature on Mason’s devices.
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I → turn → devices
I used watchdog apps.
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I → use → apps
I delayed and limited social media.
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I → delay → media
I had the hard conversations.
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I → have → conversations
And the harmful content that killed my son still found its way into his life.
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that → kill → life
Parents can’t do this alone.
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Parents → do → this
Even the most attentive parents cannot fight these companies and their algorithms.
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parents → fight → companies
We agree with the Meta official: Legislation is the best way to help parents protect their children.
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parents → agree → children
It’s time for Zuckerberg to join our cause and get the KOSA passed this year.
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KOSA → ’ → cause
Joann Bogard is a founding member of ParentsSOS.
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Bogard → found → ParentsSOS
