State of Texas: Meta settlement to bring social media child safety changes

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AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Meta, the social media giant, will pay $1 billion and implement new child safety regulations on its platforms as part of a settlement with the state of Texas. The agreement settles a lawsuit over accusations that the companies social media platforms harmed children.

The Texas Attorney General Office said Meta will be required to implement guardrails on its platforms for children. Those include:

Notifications disabled during school hours

While the result of the settlement is encouraging, some child health experts worry the changes may not address some of the most pressing issues.

“I’ve been looking through some of the changes that are a result of the settlement and I’m encouraged, but in my view, it just doesn’t go far enough,” Dr. Daniel Frint, a pediatric psychologist at Texas Children’s Hospital said.

One big concern is that the algorithm that drives what people see on Meta’s social media apps is designed to keep people scrolling. Dr. Frint says that can be particularly harmful for younger people.

“I would like to see a world where an algorithmically targeted For You page does not exist for children,” Frint said. He elaborated on the evolution of social media apps and the impact on younger people.

“Social media used to be logging on and checking on your friends’ posts or following pages that you were interested in, and once you got the content that you wanted, you could leave the app or leave the website. But now it’s a matter of scrolling on a For You page, and the teens who I’m seeing with the most serious mental health impacts are the ones who are doom scrolling, as they say, for hours on end, engaging in this addictive and reinforcing content,” Frint said.

Dr. Frint was one of the experts called to testify before a Texas House committee earlier this month. He says parents are in the best position to protect their children.

“Limit time and you can supervise content,” Frint said. “It’s hard to do both, and I recognize that, but I don’t think that now is a time for half measures.

Poll shows data centers face growing political headwinds

Data centers remain unpopular to the majority of Texans (57%) for the second consecutive time in a poll conducted by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. The majority of respondents said they had heard “a lot” or “some” about data centers.

Only 30% of respondents support data center projects in their communities. Republican voters are narrowly split on these—45% supportive, 43% opposed; Democrats and independents are 75% opposed.

James Henson, Director of the Texas Politics Project, noted that there is more nuance to the numbers.

“There’s about as much opposition in the suburbs right now as there is in the rural areas,” Henson said, adding that could have an impact on the November election. “Politically, that’s a real powder keg, particularly for incumbents.”

Henson noted how Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have adjusted their message when it comes to data centers.

“I think the way that I’ve been thinking about this, Governor Abbott’s been in the fast lane on data centers. He’s moved over to the slow lane. I don’t think he’s eyeing the off-ramp, but the politics of this require anybody running for office right now to proceed with caution,” Henson said.

The potential impacts of data centers Texans see as positives: New technologies, some local employment and tax revenue, and growth of the U.S. economy. But they also are concerned the facilities will have a large negative impact on their quality of life, the environment, weaken the grid and water supply, raise their bills, and drain the local community.

Education Freedom Accounts reshape public, private school enrollment

The start of the school year marks the rollout of the new Texas Education Freedom Accounts program. The program allows families to use up to $30,000 to pay for private school tuition, therapy and other education-related expenses.

More than 85,000 students received funding from the TEFA program. According to the Texas Comptroller Don Huffines, more than 121,000 students are on a waiting list. The program is already having an impact on enrollment at some public and private schools.

At Oak Creek Academy in Killeen, founder Dr. Tracy Hanson said enrollment has doubled at the campus. The school is specialized for students on the autism spectrum.

“Everything is individualized and differentiated,” Hanson explained. “There’s not any whole group instruction. Everybody has their own path that they’re on, and we all get to the finish line at different times.”

Hanson said TEFA opened the door for some parents who could not afford the $11,000 tuition at Oak Creek.

Report: child care challenges cost Texas employers $8 billion

According to a new report from Texas 2036 , 56.7% of Texas parents say childcare costs have affected their family planning decisions. 30% say they’ve passed up a promotion for the same reason. 11% say they’ve left a job within the past 12 months because of childcare.

The report’s author, Charles Miller, says these impact don’t just affect individual families, but also the economy at large.

“When employees are unable to take the jobs that are offered or are unable to take promotions that are offered, that results in difficulty and strain on them as well,” Miller, Director of Health and Economic Mobility Policy at Texas 2036, said.

Texas 2036 released the report on Wednesday morning, minutes prior to the Texas House Committee on Trade, Workforce & Economic Development discussing the issue.