Florida sues Meta, seeks court order for teen safety changes

Florida is pressing ahead with its lawsuit against Meta Platforms, seeking court intervention to force changes to Facebook and Instagram aimed at protecting underage users. In a filing on Wednesday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier requested a temporary injunction that would compel Meta to identify and remove users under 14 from its platforms within the state. The proposed changes also include limiting teen usage to two hours per day across all Meta apps and disabling features such as autoplay and infinite scroll for this age group. These measures are sought to be implemented immediately and remain in effect while the lawsuit progresses.

Florida's legal action accuses Meta of intentionally designing its platforms to be addictive for young users and of providing misleading information about their safety. This lawsuit is one of many filed by states across the country. In August, Meta reached settlements with 48 other states and Washington D.C., agreeing to a payout of up to $18 billion and to implement changes for teen users. However, Florida, under Attorney General Uthmeier, opted out of this settlement, deeming it insufficient and a "mere slap on the wrist" that would not deter future harmful practices. The state argues that the changes it is seeking are more stringent than those agreed to in the broader settlement, including cutting off messaging access after time limits are reached and barring advertisements for teens.