Meta has agreed to introduce major restrictions on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under a landmark settlement with US state attorneys general. It brings an end to a legal battle over allegations the company’s platforms were designed to keep its young users engaged.

Under the agreement, Meta will pay up to US$17.1 billion (about A$26 billion) over 10 years and introduce a range of new protections for users aged 13 to 17. The settlement covers a coalition of US states and territories and is subject to court approval.

Among the new changes, the most significant will be a default two-hour daily usage limit for teenagers using Meta’s platforms. Messaging and some other forms of longer content are set to be excluded from the limit.

Teenagers will also get prompts that encourage them to take breaks, while Meta will bring in restrictions on notifications during school hours and overnight, with plans for push notifications to be switched off between 10pm and 7am, unless a parent chooses otherwise. 

The agreement also addresses unhealthy social media use, targeting some of the features that critics had highlighted.

Like counts will be hidden from teenage users and Meta will disable cosmetic-procedure filters and give young people the option to switch from personalised algorithmic feeds to feeds that are not tailored to their individual behaviour. 

Age verification will become another major focus. Meta has agreed to develop an independently tested age system and incorporate age signals from Apple and Google into its processes. The company will also take steps to prevent teenagers from bypassing the restrictions by using multiple accounts. 

The settlement follows allegations from state attorneys general that Meta deliberately developed features that encouraged addictive use and failed to adequately protect children. Meta has denied the allegations.

The settlement means Meta avoids the continuation of a major trial that had the potential to expose the company to enormous damages. The company has instead described the agreement as a framework that could be adopted across the wider social media industry.

Meta is now calling on TikTok and YouTube to also introduce similar restrictions, arguing that teenagers move between multiple platforms and that safeguards will be less effective if they only apply to one service. A portion of Meta’s settlement payment is conditional on other major platforms adopting similar measures.

In Australia, the developments will be closely watched, particularly as the government has also moved towards stronger protections for young people online. Social media age restrictions have already placed Australia at the forefront of the global debate over how technology companies should protect children.

The US settlement could have consequences that go beyond Meta and if other major platforms adopt similar measures it could see standards like mandatory age verification, default usage limits and stronger protections for teenagers using social media become commonplace.Â