Meta has reached an agreement with 52 bipartisan U.S. state attorneys general to strengthen protections for teenagers and expand parental controls across its social media platforms.
The company’s Chief Legal Officer, Curtis Mahoney, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The agreement, which has the backing of representatives from both major political parties in the United States, is aimed at giving parents greater control over how their teenage children use Meta’s platforms while addressing excessive and inappropriate social media use.
Mahoney said the new measures would include screen-time limits, night-time restrictions and controls that limit access to social media during school hours.
He explained that the measures were designed to give families more control over teenagers’ online activities and encourage healthier social media habits.
According to Mahoney, protecting teenagers online cannot rely solely on individual parental controls because young people have access to a wide range of social media platforms.
He argued that teenagers can easily move from one app to another, making cooperation across the technology industry necessary to provide effective and consistent safeguards.
Mahoney therefore urged other major social media platforms, particularly TikTok and YouTube, to consider adopting similar measures so that teenagers can benefit from comparable protections regardless of the platform they use.
He described the agreement as an important step in Meta’s efforts to support parents and create a safer digital environment for young people.
However, he acknowledged that the success of the initiative would depend largely on other social media companies introducing similar safeguards on their platforms.
Mahoney also disclosed that Meta’s compliance with the agreement would be independently monitored.
He said an independent auditor would assess the company’s compliance every year for five years and submit its findings to the participating states.
According to him, the independent monitoring would provide ongoing oversight and help ensure that Meta’s commitments are implemented in practice rather than remaining general policy statements.
Mahoney said Meta would continue to engage with parents, policymakers and regulators globally as the company works to better understand how to support teenagers in navigating the online environment.
He added that the company remained committed to giving parents greater control and developing tools that would help young people use its platforms more safely and responsibly.
The agreement covers 52 jurisdictions, including U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia. Participating jurisdictions include Alabama, California, New York, Texas and Washington, among others.
Mahoney expressed hope that the agreement would promote wider cooperation across the technology industry, particularly as teenagers increasingly use multiple social media platforms.
