Meta has agreed to settle an EUR 15 billion lawsuit brought by US states that accused the company of deliberately designing Instagram to be addictive for teenagers. As part of the deal, Meta will roll out a sweeping set of new protections aimed at limiting how much time minors spend on its apps.
The settlement funds will be directed toward youth safety programs, and the company has committed to some of the most significant restrictions ever applied to teen accounts across both Instagram and Facebook.
How the lawsuit came together
US states have pushed for years to rein in what they describe as harmful algorithmic feeds in social media apps. Regulators argued that companies including Meta intentionally encouraged overuse, contributing to problems such as cyberbullying, pressure over unrealistic body images, and lost sleep that lowered school performance.
Individual state actions eventually merged into a coordinated case led by attorneys general representing 52 US states, territories, and the District of Columbia. Meta has now agreed to settle and to implement far tougher safeguards for younger users.
The new teen protections on Instagram and Facebook
The measures will apply automatically to users under 18 across both platforms. A default two-hour daily time limit will be enforced, which teens can only disable with a parent’s permission. The limit is cumulative across Facebook and Instagram, and Meta says usage counts even when it detects multiple accounts belonging to the same person.
A Night Mode will block access between midnight and 6 a.m., preventing teens from posting or viewing their Feed, Stories, Explore, or Reels. A School Mode will mute notifications by default between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., with exceptions only for direct messages and account security or safety alerts.
Teens will also receive prompts after every 15 minutes of continuous screen time, plus additional reminders when daily use reaches 60 and 90 minutes, all intended to encourage more intentional use.
Several changes target how content is delivered. Teens will be able to select a non-algorithmic feed that is not personalized by Meta’s recommendation systems, and parents can set this as a required default. Autoplay can be switched off so that content no longer plays automatically, requiring a tap or swipe instead, and parents can enforce this setting as well.
By default, teens will not see the number of likes and reactions on posts, including their own. Meta is also expanding its filter restrictions: in addition to already blocking cosmetic surgery filters, it will now block extreme makeup filters for teen accounts.
The company reiterated its commitment to age assurance, saying it continues to identify and remove underage accounts as part of the agreement. The changes represent an unprecedented package of restrictions tied to a single legal settlement covering 52 US jurisdictions.
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Image: 9to5mac.com
