UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Meta’s proposed changes, which include limits on teen usage, nighttime restrictions and stronger parental controls, were broadly in line with measures his office has advocated. But he warned that protecting children online cannot depend on individual lawsuits or voluntary action by companies.
“Children should not have to wait for a lawsuit to be safe online,” Türk said, urging governments to “step up rather than wait for courts and companies to act.”
Under the settlement reached with nearly all US states and territories, Meta will introduce a default two-hour daily limit for teenagers across Facebook and Instagram, block access between midnight and 6 a.m. and mute most push notifications during school hours. The agreement also includes stronger age-assurance measures, additional parental controls and tools allowing young users to choose feeds with less algorithmic influence.
The restrictions could become stricter if other major platforms adopt the same framework. Meta has called on TikTok and YouTube to introduce similar protections, arguing that measures on a single platform will have limited impact if teenagers can simply move to another service.
The UN’s position goes beyond imposing age limits. In May, Türk’s office issued a 10-point framework for making social media safer for children, calling for stronger data protection, safer platform design, better age-assurance systems and greater oversight of companies.
The framework also warned against relying solely on bans or age restrictions. Türk said such measures could be circumvented while leaving the underlying platform designs and algorithms unchanged. The UN has also raised concerns that outright bans could push children toward less monitored online spaces.
Among the recommendations is a requirement that children’s data receive maximum protection by default, while the commercial micro-targeting of children based on digital profiles should not be permitted. The framework also calls for independent oversight, legal consequences for companies responsible for harm and access to remedies when children’s rights are violated.
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The call comes as Meta faces mounting legal and regulatory pressure in the US and elsewhere over the effects of its platforms on young users.
The US settlement, approved by a California federal judge, requires Meta to pay the states and territories over a 10-year period while implementing the new safety measures over several years. Meta denied wrongdoing and did not admit liability as part of the agreement.
The deal could also have wider implications for the social media industry. Part of Meta’s potential payout is tied to whether TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube adopt similar protections, creating an incentive for the measures to extend beyond Facebook and Instagram.
For the UN, however, the issue is not simply about replicating Meta’s settlement across competing platforms. Türk has argued that companies need to rethink how their services are designed and operated to prevent harm to children, rather than relying primarily on restrictions imposed after problems emerge.
“Safe design should be applied across the industry,” Türk said, arguing that governments should establish stronger rules instead of waiting for courts and technology companies to act.
