Meta has spent years arguing that its products could offer safe experiences for children and adolescents while US states accumulated accusations against the company. At the end of August, this conflict reached an agreement that could cost the company up to $18 billion and change the way teenagers use Instagram and Facebook in the United States.

The agreement establishes a two-hour daily limit, blocking the apps during the early morning hours, silencing notifications during school hours, the possibility of using a feed without algorithmic personalization, and new parental controls. Most of the measures are expected to remain in effect for ten years.

There is also an unusual condition in this type of agreement. Part of the amount Meta is required to pay is tied to the adoption of similar measures by TikTok and YouTube. The company itself published an open letter asking both platforms to participate in what it presents as a new industry standard.

The case, however, began long before these new rules. To understand why Meta reached this point, it is necessary to go back to the accusations that gave rise to the lawsuit.

How did Meta reach the billion-dollar agreement?

In October 2023, a coalition of US attorneys general sued Meta, accusing the company of developing Instagram and Facebook with features capable of encouraging compulsive use by children and adolescents.

The federal lawsuit filed by 33 states was part of a larger mobilization. Other attorneys general filed separate lawsuits, leading to more than 40 states and the District of Columbia being involved in actions against the company. The allegations included deceptive practices, violation of consumer protection laws, and collecting data from minors without the required consent.

The prosecutors also argued that Meta knew about risks related to the use of its platforms and, nonetheless, maintained features designed to increase users' screen time.

Among the examples cited in the lawsuits were infinite scroll, frequent notifications, auto-play, limited-duration Stories, and recommendation systems that organized content to stimulate engagement. The accusation was that these features worked together to make it difficult for young people to stop using the platforms.

LEARN MORE: Why can't you stop scrolling your feed?

The case gained momentum over the following years. In June 2026, a court decision rejected Meta's attempt to dismiss part of the charges before trial. The judge also ruled against the company on a matter related to compliance with federal child privacy protection laws.

The situation reached trial in August. Shortly after the start of the proceedings, Meta opted for the agreement.

The company did not admit liability for the allegations. Even so, it accepted changes that directly affect some of the practices discussed during the lawsuits.

What changes on Instagram and Facebook?

The new rules will be applied automatically to minors under 18 in the states and territories covered by the agreement. Implementation depended on judicial approval, which was confirmed by Meta on August 27. Most of the obligations will last for ten years.

Two-hour daily limit: the time will be counted cumulatively between Facebook and Instagram. If the teenager spends one hour on each platform, for example, they will have reached the daily limit.

The teenager will only be able to exceed this barrier with parental authorization. Meta also states that the system should consider multiple accounts when it is able to identify that they belong to the same person.

The agreement also establishes a block between midnight and 6 AM. During this period, teenagers will not be able to post to or access the Feed, Stories, Explore, or Reels.

Notifications: between 8 AM and 3 PM, the so-called School Mode should silence push notifications. Direct messages and alerts related to account security will still be allowed.

Meta will also start showing reminders every 15 minutes of continuous use. Teenagers will also receive alerts when they reach 60 and 90 minutes of daily use.

Other planned changes include:

• possibility to set a non-algorithmic feed as default;

• option to turn off auto-play;

• hiding, by default, the number of likes and reactions;

• blocking of filters considered extreme makeup;

• strengthened identification of accounts belonging to users under 13;

• systems to identify teenagers who provided an adult age when creating their account;

• new controls for parental tracking.

There is an important exception. Direct messages are exempt from the time limit restrictions, Night Mode, and School Mode, to allow teenagers to continue communicating with friends and family.

Is two hours really a healthy limit?

The Meta agreement may make it seem like two hours represents some kind of universal limit for teenagers. That is not what the document establishes.

The two-hour value is a product rule created within the court agreement. It defines how much time a teenager will be able to use Facebook and Instagram per day under the planned conditions, but it does not determine how much screen time would be appropriate for all young people.

The debate about screen time itself usually takes into account factors such as age, activity performed, quality of content, time of use, sleep, physical activity, family coexistence, and school routine.

One hour spent talking to family members can have a different meaning than one hour consuming videos continuously. Similarly, the impact of using a screen to study can be different from that associated with recreational use before bed.

This debate has already reached Brazil. The discussion about screen time, cell phone use by students, and parental involvement has been gaining ground among families and schools, including specific rules for the educational environment.

ALSO READ: Screen time: what is the healthy limit for children and adolescents?

Why did TikTok and YouTube enter the agreement?

Meta knows that a restricted teenager on one platform might simply migrate to another. The company itself used this argument to publicly ask TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures.

Because of this, approximately 30% of the agreement, about $5.3 billion, was tied to two conditions. TikTok and YouTube need to adopt certain measures, including a one-hour daily limit, Night Mode, and age verification mechanisms. The companies would also have to make payments corresponding to the conditions established in the agreement.

The agreement starts for Instagram and Facebook with a two-hour limit and a night block between midnight and 6 AM. If competitors join, these rules become stricter. The limit changes to one hour per app and the night block extends from 10 PM to 7 AM. The commitment to these two measures also increases from five to ten years.

The strategy puts TikTok and YouTube in an unusual situation. At the same time that Meta accepts restrictions to settle a lawsuit against it, it tries to make competitors adopt similar rules.

The justification presented by the company is that teenagers move across multiple platforms. If only one of them limits access, part of that audience may simply continue consuming content on another service.

Where did these values come from?

Before the agreement, the lawsuits related to child and adolescent safety involved different claims for damages, penalties, and injunctions. In its report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Meta itself stated that the amounts sought by the plaintiffs varied widely and that, in some cases, they could exceed $1 trillion.

This does not mean that Meta was about to receive a $1 trillion fine. These were potential amounts indicated in different lawsuits and claims, subject to court decisions, legal criteria, and specific circumstances.

The August agreement put a much more concrete cap on this exposure. Meta will pay approximately $18 billion over ten years, with about $12.7 billion guaranteed to the participating states. The remaining approximately $5.3 billion depends on the conditions related to TikTok and YouTube.

The company also reported that it expects to recognize a legal expense of approximately $10 billion in the third quarter of 2026 due to the agreement.

The amount is significant, but the financial impact must be observed alongside the rest of the business. Meta preserved its core advertising model and did not admit liability for the allegations. The agreement also does not end all lawsuits involving the company or other platforms.

What does this change for internet users?

The agreement comes at a time when the discussion about protecting children and adolescents on the internet is starting to move from the realm of voluntary recommendations and into the design of the products themselves.

For years, many control tools depended on a choice by the user or the parents. Now, some of the measures planned for Instagram and Facebook must work by default for teenagers covered by the agreement.

There is also a shift in responsibility. When a platform directly controls the experience of millions of teenagers, part of the discussion shifts to the decisions made by those who develop the product.

This does not eliminate the responsibility of families. Parents still need to monitor what their children do on the internet, talk about content, and establish rules appropriate to each home's reality. But the agreement starts from a practical premise: demanding self-control from teenagers in the face of products built to hold their attention may not be enough.

It is precisely at this point that access control tools can complement parental supervision.

The CodeWall acts directly on the internet network and allows you to monitor usage time, create routines, block access, and set schedules for specific devices. The proposal is to allow limits to be applied at the connection level, rather than relying exclusively on individual settings on each device.

This does not turn a control tool into a solution for the mental health issues associated with excessive screen use. Its role is more specific. CodeWall can help families turn schedule and access rules into concrete routines, especially during times like studying, meals, and sleep.