Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, will implement new default safety restrictions for teenage users in the US. This decision follows a settlement in a significant trial in California, which also mandates Meta to pay up to $17bn to the states involved in the lawsuit, and an additional $1bn to Texas.
Under the agreement, many safety limitations will now be the default setting for accounts created by teens, a change from Meta's previous opt-in approach. These settings, such as screen-time warnings and the disabling of personalised feeds or likes, cannot be altered without the permission of a linked supervising parent account.
The settlement also introduces enhanced parental supervision features, allowing designated adults to monitor children's app usage, social connections, and messaging activity. Parents will receive notifications if a teen messages an adult account for the first time or searches for keywords related to suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders.
Furthermore, Meta is required to implement default daily app usage limits of two hours for teen accounts, which parents can adjust. A "night mode" and "school mode" will also restrict app usage and notifications during specific hours.