New Delhi, August 27: Meta has reached a nearly $18 billion agreement with a bipartisan group of 52 US attorneys general to impose tighter controls on teenagers’ use of Instagram and Facebook, including daily screen-time limits, overnight access restrictions and expanded parental oversight.
The agreement, announced on Wednesday and subject to judicial approval, would apply across participating US states and territories, with most provisions remaining in effect for 10 years. Under the proposed framework, users below 18 would face a default combined limit of two hours a day across Instagram and Facebook. Teenagers could disable the restriction only with parental permission, while usage across multiple accounts would count towards the same limit.
The measures would also prevent teenagers from accessing the two platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. Notifications would be muted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., except for direct messages and account security or safety alerts. Direct messaging would remain accessible during the daily, overnight and school-hour restrictions.
The proposed safeguards would introduce repeated prompts aimed at limiting prolonged use. Teenagers would receive an alert after every 15 minutes of continuous use, followed by additional notifications when total daily usage reaches 60 and 90 minutes.
The agreement also gives teenagers greater control over how content is presented. They could select a non-algorithmic feed and disable autoplay, while like and reaction counts would be hidden by default. Meta would also restrict access to cosmetic surgery and extreme makeup filters for teenage users.
The proposed arrangement would expand parental visibility into account activity. Meta said parents would receive information when a teenager connects a secondary account or interacts with an account deemed potentially suspicious. Parents would also receive periodic updates on usage and notifications about attempts to modify protective settings.
Meta has urged TikTok and YouTube to adopt comparable measures, arguing that teenagers move between multiple platforms. Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney called for an industry-wide approach and asked the two companies to implement the framework.
Under the agreement, participating states would receive about $12.7 billion from the nearly $18 billion payment over 10 years. The funds could support youth online safety programmes and other state priorities.
A further nearly $5.3 billion would depend on TikTok and YouTube introducing a one-hour daily limit, overnight restrictions and age-assurance measures, along with matching payments tied to that portion.
Meta expects to record nearly $10 billion as a legal expense in the third quarter of 2026, a charge not included in the expense range provided during its second-quarter earnings call.
If TikTok and YouTube join the framework, Meta’s limit would fall to one hour per app, while the overnight restriction would extend from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. The daily-limit and night-mode commitments would also extend from five years to 10 years.
Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Facebook launched in 2004, followed by Meta’s expansion through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
