Meta’s Newspaper Ad Blitz Ups Pressure on Social Media Rivals

Meta is intensifying its public pressure campaign on TikTok and YouTube, running full-page advertisements in top newspapers across the US demanding its rivals make comparable efforts to strengthen social media protections for teens. Meta signed a historic settlement of as much as $18 billion with US states requiring new safety features across Instagram and Facebook, including restrictions on the amount of time teens spend on the platforms. But in an unusual twist, the deal stipulates that Meta will only pay some of the settlement unless its competitors follow suit by committing to fines and similar concessions on their own platforms. The arrangement is aimed at incentivizing industry-wide change and acknowledges that kids will simply shift their attention to other outlets if they’re restricted on Instagram. “We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone,” according to the ads. “These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers—TikTok and YouTube—to put the same measures in place.”