The Meta Settlement Is an Opportunity to Build Healthier Digital Futures
Technology is changing young people’s lives faster than the systems around them can adapt. The recent multistate settlement with Meta gives states a rare opportunity to help close that gap, with billions of dollars to invest over the next decade in addressing and preventing harms associated with young people’s social media use.
The settlement provides a decade of investment, but the challenge extends far beyond it. The technologies shaping young people’s lives will continue to change. The protections developed for today’s platforms cannot anticipate the next tool, trend, or risk. That makes this an opportunity not only to address immediate harms, but to build lasting capacity around young people—the skills, supports, systems, and evidence that will help them thrive as technology continues to change.
“The Meta settlement is an opportunity to do more than address past harms. We don’t know what the next platform or technology will bring. The best investment we can make is to ensure young people are prepared to navigate whatever comes next. That includes ensuring that the people and systems around them are prepared to best support them.”
– Shelley Pasnik, a leading voice on youth and technology and Senior Vice President at EDC.
As states determine how to use settlement funds, EDC recommends three principles to guide investment:
Platform safeguards matter, but young people also need durable media, data, and AI literacy skills that they need now and in their future; critical-thinking skills; and an understanding of privacy, safety, and digital well-being so they can make informed choices as technology changes.
Young people shouldn’t have to navigate changing technology alone. States can equip families, educators, health professionals, and community organizations to support healthier digital lives, and strengthen the connections among them.
Investments should draw on the research we already know while building in evaluation of what works from the start, so states can understand what reduces harm, strengthen what works, and adapt as technology evolves.
How EDC can help states put these principles into action
For decades, EDC has worked at the intersection of technology and learning, youth mental health and well-being, and the systems that support young people. We bring that experience together to help states plan, implement, and evaluate coordinated investments that deliver lasting benefits.
EDC can help states:
Help states align settlement resources across education, public health, behavioral health, youth development, and out-of-school time; identify shared priorities and gaps; and plan for sustaining progress beyond settlement funding.
Help state agencies, schools, and community organizations put digital-wellness and prevention strategies into practice through professional learning, coaching, technical assistance, and coordinated implementation. This includes integrating digital well-being into existing supports, such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), and helping local grantees build the capacity to deliver effective programs.
Work with young people, families, and educators to design digital-wellness resources, media and AI literacy curricula, and learning experiences that address real needs and can be used in schools, homes, and community settings.
Bring research and evaluation into the work from the start, helping states select evidence-informed approaches, assess implementation and outcomes, and understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions.
Featured Project
MetroWest Digital Wellness Collaborative
The MetroWest Digital Wellness Collaborative is identifying, developing, and applying community-driven strategies to promote digital wellness among youth.
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