Meta under scrutiny: Big Tech, bigger responsibility

Meta is facing growing scrutiny over a question that goes far beyond social media: when a technology company becomes powerful enough to shape childhood, how much responsibility should it bear for the consequences?

Facebook was launched in 2004, while Meta became the parent-company brand in 2021. Since then, the digital landscape has transformed dramatically. Smartphones, algorithms, influencers and artificial intelligence have become central to how a new generation communicates, learns and sees the world.

Now, Meta is facing multiple legal battles in the United States over child safety, alleged social-media addiction and its business practices.

In one major case, 29 U.S. states accuse Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram in ways that allegedly encouraged young users to remain engaged, exposed children to harmful content and contributed to youth-related harms. Meta denies the allegations.

The controversy raises a fundamental question: are the guardrails protecting today's children strong enough for the digital world they inhabit?

Meta says it has invested heavily in safety, including parental controls, age protections and technology designed to detect child exploitation. But critics argue that removing harmful content after it appears is not enough. They want platforms to take greater responsibility for preventing foreseeable harm through the way their products are designed.

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Social media is unlikely to disappear. The challenge is ensuring that commercial success does not come at the expense of vulnerable users.

Parents have a role. Governments have a role. Schools have a role.

And Big Tech has a role too.

Because children are more than clicks, engagement metrics or advertising audiences.

They are the next generation.

And perhaps the real question is not whether Big Tech can operate with stronger guardrails, but whether our children can thrive without them.

And that's The Verdict.