Meta has agreed to impose major new restrictions on teenagers using Facebook and Instagram, including a combined two-hour daily limit and an overnight lockout, as part of a landmark settlement with state attorneys general that could ultimately cost the social media giant nearly $18 billion.
Following Wednesday morning’s announcement of the agreement, Meta issued an open letter calling on Snap, TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same protections. The company urged its competitors to join an industry-wide effort to “support teens and empower parents” by embracing what Meta says is its most extensive framework yet for regulating young people’s social media use.
The settlement will cap teens’ combined daily use of Facebook and Instagram at two hours and prevent them from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m., although messaging functions will remain available. Notifications will also be turned off during school hours. Meta will introduce stronger age-verification measures and new default settings governing beauty filters and the visibility of likes on posts.
The deal marks a significant resolution for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his company, which had faced potentially enormous financial exposure from litigation over allegations that its platforms harmed children.
“We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone. These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers — TikTok and YouTube — to put the same measures in place,” Meta said in its open letter.
The agreement was also deliberately crafted to encourage the 52 state attorneys general involved to pursue comparable settlements with Meta’s largest social media competitors.
Should Snap, TikTok and YouTube, which are confronting their own legal challenges from state attorneys general, accept the same framework, Meta has agreed to subject itself to even tighter rules.
Among those additional concessions would be a further reduction in how much time teenagers can spend on Meta’s platforms. The initial settlement establishes a two-hour daily ceiling, but that limit would fall to only one hour if the other social media companies agree to participate in the framework.
Meta’s public appeal specifically called on Snap, TikTok and YouTube to “support teens and empower parents” by adopting the broad set of safeguards governing social media use.
The company’s financial obligation would increase as well if its competitors join the agreement. Meta’s payout would rise from approximately $12 billion to more than $17 billion under those circumstances.
A person familiar with the agreement acknowledged that offering to accept tougher restrictions and a larger payment if competitors join might appear unusual, but said the arrangement was designed to make the settlement truly industry-wide.
“The rationale is that it’s not a comprehensive agreement unless others sign on, and certainly competitors must match at least a portion of payment if Meta is going to pay out fully … it ensures incentive for continued action on this.”
The settlement’s numbers illustrate both its enormous financial scale and the extent of the changes Meta has accepted.
At roughly $18 billion, the maximum payout would be by far the largest settlement in Meta’s history, vastly exceeding the $5 billion penalty the company paid to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019.
Based on Meta’s $200.1 billion in revenue during fiscal 2025, the company generates approximately $18 billion in just 33 days.
Meta has committed to paying 70% of the potential $18 billion total. The remaining 30% would become due only if TikTok and YouTube collectively agree to pay $5.3 billion and implement comparable changes to their apps.
Teenagers will initially be allowed a maximum of two hours per day across Facebook and Instagram. If TikTok and YouTube agree to equivalent limits, Meta’s cap would be reduced to one hour.
A six-hour overnight “Night mode” will automatically prevent teen users from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m.
Most of the settlement’s requirements will remain effective for 10 years.
Three particularly significant changes will affect the teen experience on Meta’s platforms. They include prohibiting “cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters”; hiding “Likes” and other reactions on teen posts by default; and expanding parental controls and supervision over teens’ use of the apps.
One area left untouched by the settlement is Meta’s recommendation algorithm. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt has criticized that omission, arguing that the system is “engineered to maximize young people’s engagement even with content that harms them.”
One of the central concerns surrounding restrictions imposed solely on Meta is that teenagers who reach their Instagram time limit could simply switch to another social media platform and continue scrolling there.
Meta has maintained that restrictions affecting Facebook and Instagram alone cannot solve the broader problem of excessive social media use among teenagers, which is why the company is pressing its competitors to accept comparable rules.
A second person familiar with the matter told The Post that Snap may be receptive to joining the initiative. There is currently no sign, however, that TikTok or YouTube is preparing to sign on in the near future. Snap, TikTok and YouTube did not provide comments in response to inquiries.
Snapchat, led by Evan Spiegel, could therefore emerge as one of the first competing platforms to voluntarily consider adopting the framework restricting teen social media use.
The settlement ends a multistate lawsuit brought in 2023 by a bipartisan group of state attorneys general. The states accused Meta of deliberately creating addictive platform features that harmed teenagers while also improperly collecting young users’ information.
Settlement payments will be distributed to the states over a 10-year period. Although each state will have discretion over how its share is spent, the money must be directed toward programs involving the “remediation of harms related to youth social media use.” Potential uses include counseling services, wellness initiatives and after-school programs. Individual users will not receive settlement payments.
If Snap, TikTok and YouTube ultimately adopt Meta’s framework, Meta will be required to implement the additional restrictions it has pledged as part of the deal.
The settlement is still awaiting judicial approval. Assuming it receives the necessary signoff, its provisions are expected to be fully put into effect within six months.
For Meta, the agreement brings an end to years of negotiations and litigation that at one point threatened to expose the company to as much as $200 billion in potential costs. Investors appeared to view the settlement favorably: Meta shares initially jumped following the announcement before finishing the trading day approximately 1% higher.
The resolution closes the door on a lengthy and potentially far more damaging legal fight for the social media giant.
“Litigation is over,” a source said. “They are putting it to bed.”
{Matzav.com}
