Meta’s new rules for kids go further, but critics say not enough

California attorneys exit court after tech giant Meta reached a settlement to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction [AP Photo]

Meta Platforms has agreed to changes for children using Instagram and Facebook under an $18 billion settlement with 48 U.S. states, although critics warn the measures will not resolve deeper safety problems, The Associated Press reported.

The agreement, reached yesterday [Macau time], would strengthen age checks, impose a daily limit of two hours for users under 18, block access between midnight and 6 a.m. and hide “like” counts. The safeguards will apply only in the United States, with most remaining in place for 10 years.

The settlement also covers the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and requires a judge’s approval. Meta will pay the money over a decade.

Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineering director who testified during the federal trial before the settlement, called the agreement a “significant milestone” but cautioned parents against assuming Instagram was suddenly safe.

“The agreement has a big problem in that it allows Meta to define harm,” he said.

Béjar argued that time restrictions do not address the effects of recommendations that can leave teenagers craving more content even after they put their phones down.

Under the agreement, Meta will strengthen its use of internal and third-party technology to identify underage users, with independent audits and specific targets for reducing errors that classify minors as adults.

If someone is identified as under 13 and removed, Meta will also check the ages of that user’s friends. The company requires users to be at least 13 to create accounts.

Béjar welcomed the agreement’s measurement requirements and independent testing, saying Meta should be judged on effectiveness rather than effort. In testimony, he accused the company of taking a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to children under 13.

Several protections will be enabled automatically, including the two-hour limit, which can be disabled only with parental permission, and the overnight restriction.

Other options, including disabling video autoplay or replacing algorithmic feeds with chronological posts, will remain voluntary.

Josh Golin, executive director of child safety nonprofit Fairplay, said the settlement relied too heavily on parental tools instead of restricting harmful features.

“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,” he said.

The effectiveness of earlier safeguards remains disputed. Instagram’s “take a break” reminders initially attracted few teenage users. They became standard with teen accounts introduced in 2024, but users could dismiss them.

Yaël Eisenstat, policy and impact director at the Cybersafety Research Center, said it was premature to determine whether the changes would deliver the desired results. Her organization recently audited dozens of safety tools across social media companies and found most fell short.

Still, Eisenstat, a former Facebook employee, said the settlement demonstrated that technically feasible alternatives existed to make platforms safer.

She said further progress would require technical solutions, market forces and government regulation.

“There’s no singular silver bullet for fixing all of this,” she said. “I’m just glad that at least we are catching up a little bit now.”

AP reported earlier that the money will support youth mental health programs. The figure is up to $18 billion over 10 years, with part conditional on other platforms adopting similar safeguards. MDT/AP