The hefty fine of $940m placed on Meta in New Mexico has retained Social Media in the centre of unwanted discourse and concerned efforts by jurisdictional authorities to deal with a menace that threatens today as well as the future of nations since the young ones are mostly affected in a world that seems to be laced with social poison. Although Social Media has become the nexus of human interactions, including work, communications, entertainment and other social relationships, the well-being of teens who virtually live on Social Medial platforms has been a cardinal concern to several nations. While some are taking proactive measures to restrict access, including placing age restrictions, quite a number have gone beyond the confines of what is possible from their end, to look at the activities of platform providers who are able to hide some sneaky details that could become harmful to young minds. For instance, a jury ordered Meta to pay a $375m penalty for misleading the public after it found out that the organisation hid internal research about teen mental health harms and child safety risks. In what has now come to be known as Public Nuisance Ruling, a judge ordered Meta to shell out another $567m abatement fund, declaring the organisation’s negative impact on youth mental health a “public nuisance” in the level of industrial pollution. Nigeria has had its can of troubles with Meta. On July 19, 2024, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) issued a Final Order imposing a $220m administrative penalty on Meta, saying the company engaged in discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerians after a 38-month joint investigation with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). Not satisfied with the processes leading to the fine, Meta appealed. April 25, 2025, the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal delivered its judgment which affirmed that the FCCPC was painstaking in their investigations and awarded the $220m fine with an administrative penalty of $35,000. Another $32.8m by NDPC on Meta was settled out of court. There have been other penalties however. For running unapproved and unvalidated advertisements on its platforms, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) imposed a fine of $37.5m on Meta. While TikTok got a wack of $5m also from NDPC for failure to take care of data concerning minors, and unauthorised cross-border data transfers. Meta, which is a behemoth in the Social Media ecosystem and, its sheer presence is intimidating and frustrating in most jurisdictions, is responsible for a number of Social Media and communication apps which include: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads. It is a lead player in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Virtual and Mixed Reality (Reality Labs). Meta has a suite of other operations and its activities cast a troubling shadow over human activities and corporate operations globally. Meta is nearly ubiquitous and its presence in the lives of young people has attracted a palpable harmful hue in some instances. There may be somebody somewhere who may be of the mind that some nations are hitting Meta for cash as the organisation seems to have a huge pile. For such persons, I will advise that they open a Facebook or Instagram account without stating preference of materials. The materials that will be dumped on you in the first few minutes are enough to wreck a matured mind, especially the one that has tried to remain on the good side of sanity. There is a reason to worry about teen operations in the Social Media space as the New Mexico case has demonstrated and as the Nigerian Government also demonstrated from 2024 to 2025. It is not just about Meta but all the Social Media platforms which seem to prey on young minds to build business fortunes. While fines could be a reasonable deterrent to the Social Media big-heads like Meta, Google, ByteDance, Tencent and Microsoft, among others, some jurisdictions are embarking on alternative actions to clip the wings of the platform providers; put them away permanently from the lives of the young ones. But is that ever possible? Australia was the first country to take such a bold step, damning criticisms from the business community and other stray minds. The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act is to protect youth mental health, stop exposure to dangerous online content, and reduce addictive screen habits. That decision didn’t come from the void. A commissioned research revealed that seven out of eight children aged 10 to 15 encountered disturbing materials in the Social Media while some youngsters faced widespread exposure to cyber bullying, eating disorder promotion, suicide instructions, and misogynistic or violent media. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said the goal was to “give kids back their childhood and parents their peace of mind.” To me, there couldn’t be a better response to what seems like the mons
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