Safety gaps will remain if Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, among the platforms teens use most, operate under weaker standards.

For years, Oregon families, educators and youth-serving organizations have wrestled with a difficult question: How do we help young people benefit from technology without allowing it to crowd out sleep, learning, relationships, physical activity and the real-world experiences children need to thrive?

The recent multistate settlement with Meta gives Oregon new tools for answering that question and perhaps a watershed opportunity to work with our leaders, especially the attorney general and governor, to continue to push for online youth protections and rethink how we invest in the programs that help young people grow.

Oregon was among the states that sued Meta, alleging Facebook and Instagram were designed to keep young people engaged without adequately protecting their mental and physical well-being.…