MPAC Welcomes Landmark $17.1B Meta Settlement, Calling for Reforms to Extend to the American Muslim Community

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) welcomes the announcement of a landmark settlement requiring Meta Platforms, Inc. to pay up to $17.1 billion and implement significant child-safety reforms across its platforms. This is a significant step towards holding social media companies accountable for the many harms caused to their users. For too long, social media platforms have built business models around maximizing engagement, even when the content driving that engagement is harmful to individuals and society. 

The settlement reinforces a principle that must extend across the technology industry: social media companies cannot profit from systems that amplify harm and then disclaim responsibility for the consequences. When the most vulnerable among us are better protected, especially children, we benefit as a society. MPAC supports efforts to make online activities safer and will continue to advocate for reforms to address harmful online content that targets Muslims.

The Meta settlement should mark the beginning of a broader conversation about corporate responsibility in the digital public square. Companies that profit from algorithms designed to capture our attention must also accept responsibility for addressing the foreseeable harms those systems amplify.

Free speech must be protected. But freedom of expression does not require giving technology companies freedom from accountability for the systems they design, control, and profit from.

Profit cannot come without responsibility.

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