Meta's Teen Rules: Two Hours, Midnight Blackout

Meta will hold users under 18 to two hours a day on Instagram and Facebook and shut the apps off for teen accounts from midnight to 6 a.m., under the terms of the youth-addiction settlement it struck with state attorneys general this week.

The rules are the operational half of a deal reported at roughly $18 billion with 48 states, according to the Chicago Tribune; One America News put the figure at $18 billion covering 51 states and U.S. territories, while The Washington Times and The National Desk described it as a $17 billion settlement.

Meta admits no wrongdoing, and the money is to be paid out over 10 years.

What Changes for Teen Accounts

PBS NewsHour and PolitiFact report the package includes a hard limit of two hours a day for users under 18, removable only with parental permission, and a default block on the apps from midnight to 6 a.m.

Meta also agreed to strengthen its age-estimation systems to keep children under 13 off the platforms and to push teens into age-appropriate accounts.

Like counts and cosmetic-surgery filters will be hidden from teen accounts by default.

Two of the changes researchers consider most significant — chronological feeds and limits on video autoplay — are opt-in rather than default, which critics note most users never turn on.

The Data Carve-Out

TechCrunch reports that buried in the agreement is a provision allowing Meta to retain certain data from children under 13 to train and test its age-detection models.

The deal also shields Meta from future claims by participating state attorneys general under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act tied to that use of children's data — a carve-out attorneys quoted by TechCrunch say could complicate later enforcement.