Meta's settlement writes the teen spec: two hours, a midnight blackout, prompts every 15 minutes

During school hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Meta will silence notifications; teens will no longer receive push notifications except direct messages and alerts about account security or safety.

Meta will show prompts after every 15 minutes of continuous use and when total daily usage reaches 60 or 90 minutes, which it says are designed to encourage intentional use.

Meta says it is investing in stronger technology to proactively catch accounts that may belong to under-13s and to identify accounts that may be between 13 and 17 so they can be placed in teen experiences even if they gave an adult birthday.

Meta said: "We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone... These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers - TikTok and YouTube - to put the same measures in place."

Meta's revenue topped $200 billion in 2025.

Under the agreement Meta will pay 70% of the settlement amount, about $12.7 billion, in annual instalments over the next 10 years.

The trial began in Oakland, California last week and the attorneys general filed the settlement in the same court on Wednesday morning, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers expected to approve it, according to The New York Times as reported by PCMag.

Independent auditors and the participating states are expected to assess both implementation and effectiveness of the safeguards.

Meta already has Teen Accounts, assigned by default to users under 18, which restrict certain behaviour and features.

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport of New Jersey said the state could receive at least $525 million if the settlement is approved.

Meta denies wrongdoing but has committed to a set of restrictions and safeguards.

Meta renewed its call for legislation requiring app stores to verify age and obtain parental approval before a teen downloads an app.

Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap already settled a similar case earlier this year.

Last month the European Union said Facebook and Instagram had addictive features and needed reforms.

The $12.7 billion cash tranche paid in annual instalments over 10 years averages about $1.27 billion per year.

About $1.27 billion a year is roughly 0.6% of a single year of revenue above $200 billion.

A two-hour daily allowance divided by prompts at every 15 minutes of continuous use allows up to eight friction prompts before the cap is reached.

Meta will pay approximately $18 billion to settle social media addiction lawsuits brought by 52 attorneys general across 47 US states, territories and Washington, D.C.

Digital Trends reports Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to settle claims brought by 47 states, Washington, D.C. and several US territories.

Meta is committed to retaining the two-hour limit and Night Mode for five years; if YouTube and TikTok do the same, it will extend that to 10 years, cut the daily limit to one hour, and expand night hours to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The published headline figures differ by about $900 million, from approximately $18 billion to up to $17.1 billion.

A $5.3 billion peer payment split equally implies about $2.65 billion each, roughly $150 million per company above the approximately $2.5 billion each figure Digital Trends reports.