August 28, 2026
TheWrap and TechCrunch
Joshua Wurtzel recently spoke to TheWrap and TechCrunch about Meta’s groundbreaking $18 billion settlement with bipartisan state attorneys general over claims that its platforms knowingly addicted underage users.
In TheWrap’s article “Meta’s $18 Billion Settlement: A Wake-Up Call for Social Media or the Cost of Doing Business?” Josh analyzes the terms of the agreement, under which Meta will pay $12.7 billion over ten years and implement various product changes aimed at protecting child and teen safety, including daily time limits and a lack of notifications during school hours. Notably, the remaining $5.3 billion is conditional and will only be released if major competitors YouTube and TikTok adopt similar safety measures and pay a combined $5.3 billion of their own.
“Meta would not want to be in a position where it is bound by terms more onerous than what its competitors may also have to abide by,” Josh tells TheWrap. “This deal structure solves Meta's unilateral-disarmament problem — it will not tighten teen safety alone while its competitors capture the attention it gives up — while also giving Meta some flexibility.”
The TechCrunch article "Buried in Meta’s $18B settlement is a legal pass on kids’ data” highlights a crucial clause in the agreement that grants Meta limited liability releases regarding how it handles and collects children’s data under 13 to train its age-assurance models. While isolating behavioral data from interconnected systems is a challenge, the settlement demands that Meta use under-13 user data strictly for detection and removal.
Though the article notes that barring state AGs from raising certain claims to police those boundaries could be complicated, Josh tells TechCrunch that agreement doesn’t prevent AGs from raising legal claims altogether. “If Meta uses the data outside those lines, the release and covenant not to sue don’t apply,” he explains.
Read the full articles in TheWrap and TechCrunch (Subscriptions may be required).
Joshua Wurtzel is a partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP who focuses his practice on high-stakes, complex commercial litigation. Known for his aggressive advocacy and out-of-the-box perspective, Mr. Wurtzel develops creative solutions to resolve intricate corporate disputes and navigate his clients’ most pressing legal challenges. He has been recognized on the Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch® in America” list in Commercial Litigation and the New York Metro Super Lawyers® "Rising Stars" list in Business Litigation.