Meta is planning a series of significant changes to Instagram and Facebook that will give teenagers greater control over their use of the platforms, according to a report by The New York Times. The measures are part of a settlement involving 47 US states, the District of Columbia and US territories over allegations that social media platforms can contribute to addictive behaviour among young users.
Under the new rules, teenagers will face tighter restrictions on the amount of time they can spend on both platforms. Meta said the changes will be rolled out over the next six months, although some measures, particularly those involving age verification, could take as long as a year.
By default, teenagers will be allowed to use Instagram and Facebook for up to two hours a day. Parents will have the option to extend this limit through parental controls. The platforms will also automatically prevent access between midnight and 6am.
Notifications for teenage users will be muted during school hours, from 8am to 3pm. Users under 18 will also receive reminders when they have been using the platforms for extended periods, including after 15 minutes of continuous use and again at the 60-minute and 90-minute marks.
Meta is also giving teenagers greater control over the content that appears on their feeds. For the first time, they will be able to disable autoplay, preventing videos and other content from automatically playing as they scroll.
They will also have the ability to switch off personalised algorithm-driven feeds and instead browse content that is not specifically selected according to their interests or previous activity.
In addition, Meta plans to hide like counts from young users and restrict access to certain extreme makeup filters and effects designed to mimic cosmetic surgery.
STRONGER PROTECTION FROM STRANGERS
The changes will also target unwanted interactions between teenagers and strangers. Meta says it plans to introduce additional safeguards to prevent adults from messaging teenagers or accessing their content, although the company has yet to provide details about how these protections will operate.
Teenagers will also receive a new option for reporting harmful content. Meta has committed to responding to 90% of these reports within six hours.
Parents will retain access to tools that allow them to monitor how much time their children spend on the platforms, what they search for and their interactions with adults. They will also be notified when a child creates a new account or has an interaction that Meta considers potentially suspicious.
Age verification will be another major focus. Meta said it plans to invest more in technology capable of identifying teenage users and removing accounts belonging to children younger than 13.
The company has already introduced several safeguards through its Teen Accounts, which automatically place users under 18 in more restrictive settings. The latest settlement is expected to expand those protections further and significantly change the way teenagers use Instagram and Facebook in the months ahead.
