Florida has asked a court to order Meta to impose stricter restrictions on teenagers using Facebook and Instagram, escalating its legal fight with the social media giant over the safety of young users.
In a filing before a court in Pasco County, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier asked for an immediate order requiring Meta to identify and remove users under 14 from the platforms in the state.
The state also wants teenagers to be limited to two hours of combined use of Facebook and Instagram each day, while features including autoplay and infinite scrolling would be disabled for young users.
Florida wants the restrictions to remain in place while its lawsuit against Meta continues.
The case is one of several lawsuits brought by US states accusing Meta of designing its social media platforms in ways that encourage addictive use among young people and failing to adequately protect teenagers.
However, Florida chose not to join a major settlement Meta reached with almost every other state in August.
Meta agreed to settlements with 48 states and Washington, DC, under which it could pay up to $18 billion and introduce additional protections for teenage users.
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The company denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement and has maintained that it works to protect young people on its platforms.
Meta criticised Florida’s decision to continue with the lawsuit, arguing that the state should instead focus on other major platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
“We regret that he has chosen instead to pursue a meritless preliminary injunction years into the litigation,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Florida is seeking restrictions that go beyond the measures Meta agreed to in the wider settlement.
The state wants teenagers to lose access to messaging once they reach their daily usage limit and also wants Meta barred from showing advertisements to them.
Uthmeier’s office argued that the measures are achievable because Meta has already agreed to introduce other changes for young users under the multi-state settlement.
Florida’s lawsuit accuses Meta of knowingly designing its platforms to be addictive to young users and misleading consumers about the safety of Facebook and Instagram.
The state has described the wider settlement as insufficient, arguing that the financial penalty would not do enough to prevent similar conduct in the future.
The court will now consider Florida’s request as the state’s case against Meta continues.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
