Meta has agreed to a settlement that could cost up to $16.68 billion to resolve state lawsuits alleging the company designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers. While the agreement still requires a federal judge’s sign‑off, it outlines sweeping new safeguards for teen accounts.
Daily time limit for minors
Under the proposal, any user under 18 would have a default two‑hour daily limit across both Facebook and Instagram combined. Once the limit is reached, continued access would only be possible with parental permission. This differs from existing screen‑time tools, which rely on parents or teens to enable restrictions manually.
Age‑verification technology
Meta plans to employ its “age assurance” system to identify accounts likely belonging to minors. If a teen operates multiple accounts, the time spent on each would count toward the same daily cap. The effectiveness of this technology remains to be seen, as the platforms currently do not require new users to upload ID or take a verification selfie.
Overnight curfew and notification silence
Teen accounts would also be blocked by default from midnight to 6 a.m., with parents needing to approve any change. Notifications would be silenced during those hours and during designated school periods, aiming to reduce late‑night scrolling and distractions during class.
Changes to likes, filters and feeds
The settlement would remove visible like and reaction counts for teen users, block certain cosmetic‑procedure filters, and give teens the option to switch to a non‑personalized feed that does not rely on Meta’s recommendation algorithm. These steps address concerns that algorithmic feeds and social comparison can negatively affect young people’s mental health.
Parental involvement simplified
While Facebook and Instagram already offer parental controls, the agreement would automatically activate many protections on teen accounts, reducing the need for parents to locate and enable settings themselves.
Meta has denied any wrongdoing, and the settlement will not take effect until a judge approves it. If approved, the changes could roll out within months, representing one of the most significant shifts in how the platforms manage teenage users.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
