Meta to roll out sweeping restrictions for teens on Instagram and Facebook after states settlement
As part of an $18 billion settlement with 29 U.S. states over children's safety, Meta has agreed to introduce major new restrictions for teen users on Instagram and Facebook, including a daily time limit and a nighttime lockout.
Meta announced on Wednesday a series of changes to Instagram and Facebook aimed at protecting minors, as part of an $18 billion settlement resolving claims brought by 29 U.S. states over children's online safety. The new protections will automatically apply to users under 18 in participating states and territories, pending judicial approval, with most measures required to stay in place for 10 years.
Among the most significant changes is a daily two-hour time limit for teens, cumulative across both Facebook and Instagram and also applied when someone is detected using multiple accounts. The limit can only be lifted with parental permission, and once reached, teens will be locked out of both apps.
Night mode and other limits
Meta will also introduce a default "Night Mode" between midnight and 6 a.m. that blocks underage users from accessing, posting, or viewing content altogether — a step up from the current practice of simply muting notifications overnight. During school hours, set as 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., notifications will be muted by default except for direct messages and account safety alerts.
Teens will be able to set a non-algorithmic, chronological feed as their default, something previously available only as a temporary option. Usage prompts will now appear every 15 minutes of continuous use, in addition to the existing prompt at the 60-minute mark. Other new features include an option to turn off autoplay, like and reaction counts hidden by default for underage users, and a ban on extreme makeup filters. Meta is also improving its technology for detecting users aged 13 to 17 even when they list an adult birth date.
The company published an open letter urging TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures. Roughly $5.3 billion of the total settlement will only be paid out if those platforms implement comparable restrictions.
