Meta settled with 47 states for up to $17.1 billion over a decade to resolve claims it marketed addictive social media products to youth, far below the $1.4 trillion potential liability and the inflation-adjusted $400 billion+ 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Critics had hoped for a transformative 'Big Tobacco moment' to curb Meta's influence, but historians argue the tobacco settlement was not a sudden downfall—it followed decades of activism and litigation, with smoking still prevalent today. Meta, valued at $1.47 trillion, avoided existential risk, while experts like Robert Proctor and Sarah Milov note the analogy misrepresents how social change actually occurs: gradual, not cinematic.

The $17.1 billion payment, while significant, is minuscule relative to Meta's wealth, disappointing advocates seeking structural reform. The article underscores that neither tobacco nor social media reform happened overnight, challenging the myth of a single pivotal legal moment driving cultural shifts.