Meta agrees to sweeping changes to restrict kids’ access to its apps as part of settlement with states
One of the most notable changes is that Meta plans to implement a daily two-hour time limit for teens that can only be disabled with parental permission.
Meta has agreed to a settlement with 29 U.S. states over concerns about children's safety on its platforms, Instagram and Facebook. The social media giant will implement a series of changes aimed at restricting minors' access to the apps. These measures include a daily time limit of two hours, which can only be disabled with parental permission, and a default "Night Mode" that blocks teenagers from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. Meta will also introduce prompts to remind teens of their usage after every 15 minutes and hide like counts by default.
Additionally, the company will make non-algorithmic feeds the default experience for teenagers, as well as allow parents to set a non-personalized feed as the default for their adolescent children. Meta plans to hide extreme makeup filters and remove autoplay prompts, requiring users to take deliberate action to view more content. The new policies will be enforced across Facebook and Instagram, counting time spent on both applications toward the two-hour limit.
Meta's $18 billion settlement will be distributed over a decade, with 30% reserved for YouTube and TikTok if they adopt the same restrictions. The company hopes this move will encourage other platforms to prioritize children's safety and parental control.
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