Florida Seeks Court Order Limiting Meta Teen Use

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on October 7, 2026, filed a motion for a temporary injunction in Pasco County Circuit Court asking a judge to order Meta to restrict minors on Facebook and Instagram while the state's lawsuit continues. The proposal would require Meta to identify and remove Florida users under 14, with a 30-day deadline to implement age verification or block them; impose a two-hour daily limit and 60-hour monthly cap for teens; run quiet mode blocking access from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school weekdays; hide like and comment counts by default unless parents opt in; cut off teen messaging once daily limits are hit; ban advertising to teens; and disable autoplay and infinite scroll. The underlying suit, filed in December 2024 by then-AG Ashley Moody, claims Meta misled families about risks. The new filing cites internal employee chat logs calling Instagram "a drug" and staff "basically pushers." Uthmeier rejected Meta's August 2026 settlement with 48 states and Washington, D.C., reported as up to $18 billion or $17.1 billion in civil penalties. He said Meta already told America such changes are the new industry standard, Florida kids should not be last in line, and "we wont sell out our kids" after a "low-ball settlement." Meta has denied wrongdoing. After the settlement, Meta chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said he was proud of the agreement as a parent and that its success depends on other platforms following Meta's lead. Florida's 2024 HB 3 bans under-14 accounts and requires parental consent for ages 14-15; an appeals panel stayed a federal injunction against it. The temporary-injunction request remains pending.