Changes to Facebook and Instagram are key part of Meta’s $17B settlement with the states over harm to teens

Meta has agreed to pay up to seventeen billion dollars over ten years to settle a lawsuit brought by a coalition of forty seven state attorneys general alleging the company’s platforms were designed to hook teens. The deal, announced on August twenty six, mandates that teens under eighteen in participating states face a default two hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram, with parental overrides only allowed between midnight and six a.m., muted notifications during school hours, and prompts after fifteen minutes of continuous scrolling. It also requires a non‑algorithmic feed option, autoplay turned off by default, hidden like counts, and tighter age‑detection for users under thirteen. An independent auditor will review Meta’s compliance for five years, though the settlement still awaits approval from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and does not resolve other state cases, as The Conversation (US) notes.

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