6 days ago
Meta Settlement Sets Teen Curfews, Limits, and Safety Changes
Meta has proposed a new deal with U.S. states about how its apps treat children and teenagers.
The deal is not final because a judge must approve it.
Teenagers would normally have two hours a day to use Facebook and Instagram together.
Their accounts would also be blocked from most app features between midnight and 6 a.m.
Parents could approve changes or make the limits stricter.
Meta would try harder to check users’ ages and keep children under 13 off the platforms.
It would also hide like counts, mute notifications during school hours, and offer a feed that is not personalized by an algorithm.
Some safety experts say these steps help but do not remove all harmful features or content.
Meta reached a proposed settlement with nearly all U.S. states over allegations that Facebook and Instagram encouraged compulsive use among young people.
The reported settlement value varies by source, ranging from about $17 billion to $18 billion, with payments spread over roughly 10 years and additional conditional amounts.
Teen accounts would face a default two-hour combined daily limit and a midnight-to-6 a.m. block across Facebook and Instagram, subject to parental approval for changes.
Meta would strengthen age checks, mute notifications during school hours, hide like counts, block certain cosmetic filters, and offer non-personalized feeds.
Critics welcomed the changes but said recommendation algorithms and potentially harmful content would remain insufficiently restricted; court approval is still required.
- Who
- Meta Platforms and a coalition of U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and participating territories are parties to the proposed settlement; it would affect users under 18 and their parents.
- What
- A proposed settlement would impose teen time limits and nighttime restrictions while requiring stronger age checks, parental controls, and other safety changes on Facebook and Instagram.
- Where
- The settlement concerns Meta’s Facebook and Instagram services in the United States.
- When
- The agreement was announced Wednesday; several provisions would begin within four to 12 months after court approval, while age-assurance improvements would have a one-year deadline.
- Why
- State attorneys general alleged that Meta designed features to encourage compulsive use, failed to adequately protect young users, misled the public about safety risks, and unlawfully collected some children’s data.
Critics and child-safety advocates
Meta and settlement supporters
Whether the changes are sufficient
Critics and child-safety advocates
Critics say the settlement does not go far enough because recommendation algorithms, harmful content pathways, and some risky design features would remain available or opt-in rather than being disabled by default.
Meta and settlement supporters
Meta and supporters describe the agreement as a major or groundbreaking expansion of child-safety protections, including default time limits, curfews, age checks, and parental controls.
Effect of time limits
Critics and child-safety advocates
Former Meta engineering director Arturo Béjar argued that limiting usage may not address the harmful content and addictive recommendations that can leave teenagers wanting more after their allotted time ends.
Meta and settlement supporters
The settlement’s restrictions would reduce default access time and overnight use, while allowing parents to adjust or tighten the controls.
Industry-wide responsibility
Critics and child-safety advocates
Critics focus on Meta’s own platform design and say the company should restrict harmful recommendation systems rather than mainly give parents more tools.
Meta and settlement supporters
Meta Chief Legal Officer CJ Mahoney says consistent protection requires rival platforms to adopt comparable rules because teenagers move among many apps, and he called on TikTok and YouTube to participate.
Key facts
- Settlement status
- Proposed and subject to a judge’s approval
- Reported value
- Articles report totals ranging from about $17 billion to $18 billion; one source describes approximately $12.7 billion in core payments plus $5.3 billion conditional on rival participation
- Default teen limit
- Two cumulative hours per day across Facebook and Instagram, with changes requiring parental permission
- Overnight restriction
- Most features blocked by default from midnight to 6 a.m. local time
- School-hour notifications
- Push notifications muted by default from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on qualifying weekdays during the school year
- Additional safeguards
- Stronger age assurance, hidden like and reaction counts, blocked cosmetic-surgery filters, and an available non-personalized feed
- Oversight
- An independent auditor selected by Meta and participating states would monitor compliance for 10 years
Quotes
Josh Golin
Executive director of the online safety nonprofit Fairplay
“We are disappointed that the settlement does not turn off by default recommendation algorithms that connect kids to predators and send young people down dangerous rabbit holes”
livemint.com
“We therefore call on our industry peers, TikTok and YouTube, to implement this new framework right away.”
thestatesman.com
Yaël Eisenstat
Director of policy and impact at the Cybersafety Research Center
“The agreement has a big problem in that it allows Meta to define harm. It’s one thing to say, ‘Yeah, you only get like two hours of alcohol or two hours of cigarettes a day,’ but it’s still as bad for you because of what’s getting delivered.””
livemint.com
“There’s no singular silver bullet for fixing all of this. I’m just glad that at least we are catching up a little bit now.”
livemint.com
Sources
Meta To Implement Nighttime Curfews, Time Limits For Teens In Settlement
Meta Agrees To $17 Billion Settlement Over Teen Safety Lawsuit; Will Introduce 2-Hour Daily Usage Limit For Kids Under 18
Time limits and a midnight cutoff: Meta’s new rules for kids go further, but critics say not enough
Meta agrees up to $18-billion teen-safety deal; Instagram, Facebook face two-hour default limit
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