Meta Agrees to Major Teen Safety Changes
Meta has agreed to introduce significant new restrictions for teenage users of Facebook and Instagram as part of a proposed settlement with US states over allegations that the platforms were designed to encourage excessive and potentially harmful use among children.
The settlement still requires approval from a judge, but if implemented, it would introduce some of the most extensive restrictions yet on how teenagers use Meta’s social media platforms. The company would also pay up to $16.7 billion under the agreement, depending on whether rival platforms adopt comparable measures.
Teen Accounts to Face a Nighttime Curfew
One of the most notable changes would be a default nighttime block for teenage accounts.
Within six months of the settlement taking effect, teens would be prevented from accessing most Facebook and Instagram features between midnight and 6 am local time.
Messaging and settings would remain accessible in a limited form, but teens would not be able to use them to access the wider platforms. Push notifications would also be disabled from 10 pm to 7 am, helping reduce overnight interruptions.
Two-Hour Daily Usage Limit
Teen accounts would also receive a default two-hour cumulative daily usage limit across Facebook and Instagram.
The limit would reset at midnight and could not be changed by the teenager without parental approval. Parents would have the ability to make the restrictions even tighter.
Certain activities, including messaging and long-form video, would not count towards the two-hour allowance under the settlement terms.
If competing platforms such as TikTok and YouTube introduce equivalent restrictions, the proposed rules could become even stricter, with the overnight block extending from 10 pm to 7 am and the daily allowance being reduced.
Social Media Notifications to Stop During School Hours
Meta would also be required to silence notifications for teenage accounts during school hours.
Under the proposed arrangement, notifications would be switched off from 8 am to 3 pm on weekdays during the defined school year. The objective is to reduce distractions and prevent social-media activity from constantly interrupting students during school hours.
Parents would also receive daily notifications showing how much time their teenagers have spent on the platforms.
Changes to Instagram and Facebook Feeds
The settlement would introduce several other changes aimed at reducing potentially harmful social-media behaviour.
Within four months, teenage users would be offered a non-personalised feed, giving them an alternative to algorithmically curated content.
Like and reaction counts would also be hidden by default, while certain cosmetic-surgery-related filters would be prohibited for teen users. These measures are designed to reduce social comparison and exposure to content that could negatively influence young users.
Stronger Age Verification
Meta would also have one year to introduce a more accurate age-assurance system.
The company would be required to improve its ability to identify users who are actually teenagers despite providing an older age when creating an account. New accounts whose age cannot be verified within 14 days would be treated as teen accounts regardless of the age entered during registration.
The measures are also intended to make it harder for children under 13, who are prohibited from using Facebook and Instagram under US law, to maintain accounts.
Parents Get Greater Control
The settlement would give parents greater oversight of their teenagers’ activity.
Parents supervising a teen account would receive daily usage information, prompts to review account settings and the ability to adjust school-hour restrictions.
The measures are designed to shift more control towards parents rather than relying on teenagers themselves to activate safety features.
Meta Faces Long-Term Oversight
The proposed agreement would not simply rely on Meta’s own internal monitoring.
An independent auditor, jointly selected by Meta and a committee representing the states, would monitor compliance with the settlement for 10 years. Meta would also be prohibited from making false or misleading statements about its safety features.
The financial settlement would include annual payments over a decade, with states expected to use the money for initiatives such as youth mental-health programmes, crisis services, after-school activities and digital-literacy efforts.
A Major Shift in Social Media Regulation
The proposed settlement could establish a new benchmark for how social-media companies are expected to protect teenage users.
Rather than simply offering optional parental controls, the proposed measures would make time limits, nighttime restrictions, school-hour notification controls and other protections the default for teen accounts.
The agreement also puts pressure on other major social-media companies to adopt comparable measures if they want to avoid being left behind in an increasingly strict regulatory environment.
For Meta, the settlement represents a significant financial and operational commitment. For parents and teenagers, it could fundamentally change how Facebook and Instagram are used on a daily basis.
Summary
Meta has agreed to proposed restrictions that would limit teenagers to two hours of daily Facebook and Instagram use and block most platform access between midnight and 6 am. Notifications would be disabled during school hours, while parents would gain greater control over usage. Meta will also strengthen age verification, introduce non-personalised feeds and hide like counts by default, subject to judicial approval.
