Meta settlement adds age verification, time limits and night restrictions for under-18 users
Meta has agreed to a U.S. settlement that will tighten age verification, impose a two-hour daily limit for users under 18, block access from midnight to 6 a.m., and hide like counts, with most measures lasting ten years.
Meta announced a settlement that requires the company to strengthen age-verification technology, enforce a two-hour daily usage cap for users under 18, block access to its apps between midnight and 6 a.m., and hide public like counts. The safeguards will apply in the United States and remain in effect for up to a decade, with most provisions slated for ten years.
The company said the new controls will be on by default for minors, and can only be disabled with parental permission. Adults may opt into daily time-limit reminders, but cannot opt into the broader settings that affect teen accounts.
Former Meta engineering director Arturo Béjar called the settlement a “significant milestone” but warned that it lets Meta define what constitutes harm. > “The agreement has a big problem in that it allows Meta to define harm,” Béjar said. He also noted that while the two-hour limit may cause teens to stop using the platform, the design of the service could leave them craving more.
Critics said the deal focuses on parental tools rather than disabling harmful recommendation algorithms. > “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,” said Josh Golin, executive director of the nonprofit Fairplay.
The settlement also requires regular independent audits of Meta’s age-assurance system and sets targets for reducing false-positive identifications of minors as adults. Béjar praised the measurement and testing components, saying the system should be judged on effectiveness rather than effort.
Researchers cautioned that it may take time to assess the impact of the new measures. > “It is a little premature, unfortunately, to tell if exactly all the changes we want to see are going to happen,” said Yaël Eisenstat, director of policy and impact for the Cybersafety Research Center. She added that the agreement shows technically feasible options exist, but that broader regulatory and market actions will also be needed.
The settlement, which also covers the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, still requires judicial approval.