Meta will impose a default two-hour daily time limit on Instagram and Facebook for users under 18, along with a mandatory overnight shutdown of the apps, as part of a settlement with a coalition of US state attorneys general, according to the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Two-hour cap, parental override only
Under the agreement, teenagers using Facebook and Instagram will be capped at two hours of daily use by default. The limit can only be switched off with a parent's permission. The restriction is designed to tighten further if rival platforms sign on to similar commitments. If YouTube, TikTok and Snap adopt comparable measures, the default limit for minors would drop to one hour.
No Facebook, Instagram scrolling in the night
Alongside the daily cap, Meta will enforce a default overnight block between midnight and 6 am, during which teenagers will be locked out of both apps entirely. As with the daily limit, only a parent can lift this restriction. This overnight block could also expand, to cover 10 pm to 7 am, if other major platforms agree to matching restrictions. Meta will additionally switch off notifications to under-18 users by default during the overnight hours and through the school day.
Part of a wider settlement
The measures are among the terms of a proposed settlement resolving a lawsuit filed in 2023 by a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general, which accused Meta of designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children and teenagers while misleading the public about the risks. The case went to trial on August 18 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, and the settlement, which still requires court approval, also includes a payment of up to $17 billion to the states over ten years, alongside stronger age-verification systems, expanded parental controls, and independent audit oversight of Meta's compliance.
Meta did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement. Its chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, described the new framework as groundbreaking, saying it would help parents manage how their children use the company's platforms, but added that the changes would have limited impact unless other social media companies adopted similar standards, a direct call for TikTok and YouTube to follow suit.
Meta has reportedly agreed to roll out the changes 'within months', calling the settlement a step toward making 'social media less dangerous for our kids'.
