Reckoning on social media addiction came late for many kids. Will AI safety be different?

U.S. states’ summer agreement on social-media safety arrives years after concerns about kids’ screen use first surfaced. Now, advocates say lessons from that push must carry over to artificial intelligence, which is reaching children faster than safety testing. Meta’s $18 billion settlement included platform changes and enhanced safeguards, and the company introduced measures like age assurance and restricted experiences for minors. But parents and experts argue regulators should act sooner on AI harms—especially as children can consume AI-generated content and interact with chatbots inside apps. The key risk is that problems may only appear after widespread use.