Time limits and a midnight cutoff: Meta’s new rules for kids go further, but critics say not enough

Summary by The San Antonio Editorial Desk · Byline on the source page: Barbara Ortutay And Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Associated Press, as published by KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) · August 27, 2026 · 1 min read

Photo: KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) · view original

A historic settlement has been reached between Meta Platforms and 48 U.S. states, resulting in changes to Instagram and Facebook experiences for kids under 18. The settlement includes a payout of $18 billion over a decade. Meta has agreed to implement various measures, including strengthening age estimates and limiting daily usage to two hours for users under 18.

Kids will also be blocked from the apps between midnight and 6 a.m. Additionally, "like" counts will be hidden. While the changes are seen as a step forward, critics caution that they may not be enough to solve all problems related to child safety.

Further details about the settlement and its implications are available, including reactions from critics and children's advocates, such as a former Meta engineering director.

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KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) reported and published this story. The San Antonio selected it, summarised the key facts above, and links to the original. We did not report this story and we added no reporting of our own to it.

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For the complete original report, visit KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate). Have a tip or correction? Contact the editor.

Category: library · Published: August 27, 2026 · Source: KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) · Reading time: 1 min

Summary created by	The San Antonio Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed
Byline on source page	Barbara Ortutay And Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Associated Press, as published by KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate)
Original story	Read at the source
Source published	Aug 27, 2026
Indexed here	Aug 27, 2026
AI assistance	Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text
Prepublication human review	No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples

Time limits and a midnight cutoff: Meta’s new rules for kids go further, but critics say not enough

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