Updated:
Florida has asked a state judge to order Meta Platforms to make immediate changes to Instagram and Facebook for young users while the state’s lawsuit against the company proceeds. In a motion filed Wednesday, October 7, in Pasco County, Attorney General James Uthmeier sought restrictions including removing users younger than 14 from the platforms and limiting teenagers’ use to two hours a day across Meta’s apps.
The state is also asking the court to disable features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling for teen users. Florida’s request goes beyond a recent multistate agreement with Meta, seeking, among other restrictions, to block teen access to messaging after the daily limit is reached and prohibit advertisements to teens. The motion asks for the measures to take effect immediately, but the judge has not yet ruled.
What Florida wants the court to require
The requested injunction would require Meta to identify and remove Florida users under 14 from Facebook and Instagram. For teenagers who remain on the platforms, Florida wants a cumulative two-hour daily limit across Meta apps, along with the disabling of selected features that the state says encourage prolonged use.
The filing also seeks restrictions on teen messaging after users reach their time limit and a ban on advertisements shown to teens. Those provisions would be stricter than the measures Meta agreed to in the multistate settlement, according to Reuters. The state argues that the settlement’s terms demonstrate that platform changes are feasible, while contending that its own proposed restrictions are needed to protect young users.
Florida proceeds outside the multistate settlement
Florida was among the states involved in earlier litigation accusing Meta of designing its services to encourage compulsive use by children and teens and misleading consumers about platform safety. Uthmeier chose not to join the settlement announced in August and is continuing the state’s case independently.
Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion under the settlement with 48 other states and Washington, D.C., according to Reuters and The Associated Press. The agreement includes changes for teen users, such as a default two-hour daily limit that requires parental permission to disable, overnight restrictions, muted notifications during school hours and additional parental controls. Meta has denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, while saying it works to protect young users.
The agreement’s terms also include controls over features such as autoplay and likes, and stronger efforts to identify underage accounts. Meta said the protections would apply in participating states and territories following court approval, with most terms intended to remain in place for 10 years. Florida’s separate motion seeks an order from its state court rather than relying on those settlement provisions.
Dispute centers on alleged design and safety failures
Florida’s lawsuit accuses Meta of knowingly engineering its platforms to be addictive to young users and misleading parents about safety. Those are allegations made by the state, not findings established by the injunction request. The motion is an attempt to obtain temporary restrictions during the ongoing case; the underlying claims remain to be resolved.
In reporting on the filing, Florida Voice News said the state cited internal Meta communications and company research in support of its arguments, including claims about risks to young people. Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the injunction motion. The company’s earlier public statements about teen safety and its settlement position do not constitute a response to this new filing.
Judge’s decision and timing remain unclear
The motion was filed in Pasco County court on Wednesday, October 7, and asks that the restrictions begin immediately while litigation continues. The available reporting did not identify a hearing date or a schedule for the judge’s decision. Until the court acts, the requested changes should be understood as Florida’s proposed relief, not as requirements already imposed on Meta.
The case leaves Florida pursuing more restrictive teen-platform rules than those in the multistate settlement, while the judge weighs whether temporary measures are warranted before a final resolution. The extent to which the court may grant, narrow or reject the state’s requests remains unknown.
