Meta agrees with US plaintiffs on stricter youth protection rules for Instagram and Facebook

During the day, a so-called school mode is intended to ensure that notifications are automatically muted between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. The goal is to reduce disruptions during class and homework. The function is based on similar focus aids that some schools have already introduced on their own.

School mode and silent notifications

In addition to the time restrictions, the agreement provides for an algorithm-free feed. Parents can mandate it; young people can choose it as the default setting. In this mode, posts are no longer sorted based on previous clicks and time spent, but are displayed chronologically.

Another central point is the end of visible like counts. Going forward, other users should not be able to see how many reactions a post has received, neither under others' nor under one's own posts. Meta wants to reduce the social pressure that, according to research, can affect self-esteem, particularly among young people.

End of like counts and pressure

Stricter age verification is also planned. Meta wants to better detect and remove accounts of children under 13. For 13- to 17-year-olds, the system should also recognize a youthful profile even if an incorrect date of birth has been entered. This is in response to reports indicating that minors were previously able to easily circumvent age checks.

The agreement is the result of a settlement in the United States. Federal court proceedings had accused the company of deliberately binding young people to the platforms through design-psychological means – such as endless scrolling and autoplay. The measures now presented are interpreted as an acknowledgment of this criticism.

The measures initially apply to the United States. However, the settlement clauses provide that comparable standards are also to be examined in other markets. Observers point out that the European Commission is already preparing its own rules to protect minors online and is conducting an ongoing proceeding against Meta.

International impact

In Australia, the legislature passed a minimum age of 16 for social media last year. In Germany, federal and state politicians are discussing a possible minimum age of 14 or 16, with individual states having already announced their own initiatives. The steps Meta has now announced will feed into this debate.

Critics assess the agreement as overdue but not far-reaching enough. They demand that the time limits be actually enforced and not undermined by simple workarounds. Data protection authorities also view age verification critically, as it can involve the processing of biometric or behavioral data.

It is still unclear in what order the individual components will be rolled out worldwide. The question of whether the two-hour limit applies per user account or per person has also not been finally answered. Meta announced that it would publish the details in the coming weeks and coordinate with regulatory authorities and youth protection organizations.

Overall, experts assess the settlement as a signal: Pressure on large platforms to align their products more closely with children's well-being is growing – not only through courts, but also through regulators in the EU, Australia, and several US states. The tools now agreed upon are seen as a test of whether voluntary commitments are sufficient or whether stricter legal requirements will follow.