Meta has settled a child online safety trial brought by 29 US state attorneys general, avoiding a continuation of proceedings that could have resulted in penalties worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The agreement imposes new obligations on how the company treats teenage users across its platforms, marking a significant regulatory constraint following mounting pressure over the impact of social media on young people.

Under the settlement, Meta must develop an age-assurance system subject to independent testing, with false-positive rates capped at 10% for 16- to 17-year-olds and 3% for 13- to 15-year-olds. Teenagers will be given the option to switch off personalised, algorithm-driven feeds, push notifications will be suspended between 10pm and 7am unless parents disable the restriction, and daily use of Meta's apps will be limited to two hours, with exceptions for messaging and long-form content. The Verge notes this is a developing story, with further details expected.