New restrictions for children using Meta platforms after nearly $18 billion settlement.

 On Wednesday, August 26, Meta owners of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp agreed to new sweeping restrictions that limit children's use of these various platforms. They have also agreed to a settlement of $18 billion as more and more lawsuits have stacked against them concerning the perception that these social media platform are deliberately designed to be addictive. It is asserted tat they pose a severe risk to children's mental health. 

Under the new agreement, child users under the age of 18 will be restricted in their usage of their Facebook and Instagram accounts which will include night curfews, as well as two-hour usage limits. It has also been revealed Meta must implement as part of the settlement with 48 US states.

It is speculated that this may have implications for Meta's global market as several countries around the world are already taking regulatory action against the company and other social media companies over their platforms.

So, what is in the settlement Meta has reached in the United States, and how will Instagram and Facebook change for users?

Twenty-nine US states sued Meta, accusing it of designing its platforms in ways that “encourage addictive behaviour, fail to verify users’ ages, encourage adolescents to bypass parental controls, and inadequately safeguard against harmful content and/or intentionally amplify harmful and exploitative content”, according to filings at the Court of Appeal in California.

The first states who originally filed federal lawsuits in 2023 were: California, Kentucky, Colorado and New Jersey. They began their cases in a California federal trial last week.

The attorneys general representing the states also requested that the court order changes be made to Meta’s platforms to protect young social media users. In particular, they demanded that Meta introduce a process of parental verification for teenage users; change its “dopamine-manipulating” algorithms; remove image filters for users’ personal images; eliminate the ability to create multiple accounts; and end “disappearing” messages and posts.

The lawsuit also alleged Meta had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting, ⁠retaining and using personal data from children under 13 without proper parental consent.
Additionally, in February of this year (2026), Meta lost a multimillion-dollar case brought on similar grounds by a young woman referred to as KGM in Los Angeles, over platform features linked to addiction in younger users.

In March, a US jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for endangering children in a case brought by the state of New Mexico, and last month (July), a judge in New Mexico also ordered Meta to pay a further $567 million in a second phase of the trial.

Though Meta has denied any wrongdoing, it agreed to settle after evidence was heard that the social media powerhouse knew its products harmed children’s mental health. The total payout – to be paid over 10 years – is a fraction of Meta’s 2025 revenue of $201 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook; founder, chairman and CEO of Meta.

The company, which was originally founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, agreed to make maximum payments totalling $16.7 billion to 47 US states as well as Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; American Samoa; and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Among those, California could receive a $2.2 billion payout, while New York could receive $1.1 billion. Texas reached a separate settlement worth more than $1 billion. Some states will deposit funds they receive in general accounts, while others will earmark portions to address children’s mental health services.

The settlement does not require that Meta discontinue personalised recommendations or targeted advertising. It also does not address some content researchers found particularly problematic, including posts that made Instagram users uncomfortable with their body image.