The Meta Settlement’s Next Phase: Getting Independent Oversight Right

Meta is now required to implement specific protections for young people on Facebook and Instagram. But how will we know if they actually work and reduce risks to young people online?

That question is at the heart of the Meta settlement’s next phase. By the end of October, state attorneys general and Meta will select an independent auditor and, by January, the auditor will establish a work plan that will shape how the settlement works in practice, and whether it actually reduces the risks it is intended to address. The decisions made now about the auditor’s authority, expertise, access to data, and approach to measuring outcomes could shape Meta oversight for years to come. 

Join KGI, researchers, and platform accountability experts with extensive experience studying and auditing social media platforms to discuss what it will take to make that oversight effective. Independent oversight will be critical in determining whether the settlement’s youth safety provisions translate into real, measurable change — not just a check-the-box compliance exercise.

Registration is required. Secure your spot here.

We’ll explore questions including:

• Who should audit Meta, and what expertise do they need to do it well?
• What should the auditor actually measure to determine whether the settlement is working? What access to data does the auditor need?
• How do you ensure the auditor is independent?
• How can the public learn what the auditor finds?
• What happens if Meta and the auditor disagree about what the settlement requires or how its effectiveness is measured?
• What can past efforts to audit and evaluate technology companies teach us about what works — and what doesn’t?

This online event follows the release of the Knight-Georgetown Institute’s new brief “After the Settlement: Ensuring Meta’s Protections Work,” which offers nine recommendations for effective oversight of the settlement.

Speakers

• Peter Chapman: Deputy Director at the Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI) (Moderator)
• Arturo Béjar: Technical advisor on platform safety and teen well-being and former Meta engineering director
• Laura Edelson: Assistant Professor, Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, researching platform transparency and algorithmic accountability
• Jeff Allen: Founder and Chief Research Officer at the Integrity Institute and former data scientist at Facebook and Instagram on integrity teams monitoring ranking and recommendation systems