The agreement has intensified a growing international debate over how technology companies should protect children from harmful online content and features designed to maximise user engagement.
Australian officials on Thursday said Meta’s move demonstrated that social media companies already have the technology and tools needed to better protect young people, while authorities in the Philippines said the US-based company had pledged to strengthen safeguards in that market.
Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells told Reuters that the latest developments showed platforms could do more to protect children from potentially harmful and addictive features.
“Social media companies have the tools at their disposal to protect young people from their addictive features but have chosen not to use them,” Wells said in an email.
Meta faces sweeping US restrictions
Under the agreement reached with nearly all US states, Meta will pay up to $18 billion over a decade and introduce significant changes to how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram.
The settlement resolves claims that Meta deliberately designed its platforms to encourage addictive use among children and teenagers. Meta has denied wrongdoing while agreeing to settle the claims.
Among the measures is a default two-hour daily limit on Meta’s apps for users under 18 in the United States.
The settlement represents one of the most significant regulatory and legal challenges yet to the business practices of major social media companies and could influence governments seeking tougher safeguards for children in other markets.
Several countries have already begun introducing or considering measures aimed at reducing young people's exposure to harmful online material and limiting excessive social media use.
Australia presses ahead with under-16 ban
Australia has taken one of the most aggressive approaches, introducing a world-first ban late last year preventing children under 16 from using social media platforms.
The Australian government has argued that young people require greater protection from online harms, including addictive platform features.
However, implementation of the law has faced significant challenges.
Early evidence suggests that age-verification systems have struggled to prevent minors from accessing social media. Multiple studies, including research from Australia's internet regulator, indicated that about 80 per cent of minors were still using social media months after the ban came into effect in December.
The findings have prompted Australian lawmakers to increase the maximum penalties for companies that fail to comply and expand the powers of regulators responsible for enforcing the restrictions.
The enforcement difficulties highlight one of the biggest challenges facing governments attempting to regulate children's access to social media: determining a user's age accurately without creating new privacy or security risks.
Philippines seeks stronger safeguards
In the Philippines, officials said the Meta settlement had already contributed to discussions about strengthening protections for young users.
Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda told Reuters that Meta and gaming platform Roblox had pledged during a meeting on Thursday to tighten age-verification procedures in the country.
The companies also agreed to expand parental controls and introduce or strengthen time limits for social media use, according to Aguda.
The commitments reflect a broader push among Asian governments to exert greater oversight over digital platforms and protect young users from harmful content and excessive online activity.
Countries including China, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are considering or implementing tighter rules covering social media, online scams and child safety.
South Korea calls for global application
South Korea’s media regulator said some of the measures announced by Meta should not be restricted to American users but should instead be extended to young people globally.
The position reflects growing concern among regulators that social media companies could apply different safety standards depending on the market in which users are located.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also said her government would need to examine the potential implications of the US agreement for Mexico.
The growing international reaction suggests that the Meta settlement could become a reference point for governments seeking stronger protections for children from major technology platforms.
EU demands tougher action
In Europe, regulators are already pursuing measures that could go further than the restrictions agreed in the United States.
The European Commission said it was waiting for Meta to present changes aimed at reducing the addictive design of its social media platforms.
The Commission has already issued preliminary findings that Meta breached the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which imposes obligations on large online platforms to address risks and protect users.
In July, the Commission said Facebook and Instagram should disable autoplay and endless scrolling by default, introduce screen-time breaks and modify recommendation systems to reduce incentives that encourage users to remain on the platforms.
Those proposals go beyond the measures contained in the US settlement.
The Commission also said in April that Meta had failed to prevent children under 13 from opening or maintaining accounts.
The latest US agreement could make it more difficult for Meta to argue that stronger age-verification systems are impractical, European officials suggested.
“We have been very clear ... we expect proper screen time management, we expect proper parental control on these platforms. Meta knows ... the ball is in Meta's court,” said European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier.
Legal action could spread to Australia
The US settlement is also attracting the attention of lawyers considering similar legal challenges outside the United States.
Australian class-action law firm Shine Lawyers said it was in discussions with US lawyer Mark Lanier, who worked on the California action against Meta, about a potential legal case in Australia.
The firm said it was examining whether Australian families might have claims relating to the design and operation of social media platforms.
“For years, families have been asking whether enough has been done to protect children from platform features designed to maximise engagement,” said Shine Lawyers head of class actions Craig Allsopp.
“We are now examining whether similar legal issues arise in Australia, including whether Australian children and families may have claims connected to the design, operation and promotion of social media platforms. If Australian families have been affected, they deserve answers.”
Enforcement remains the key test
Despite the growing number of laws and regulatory initiatives, the experience in Australia illustrates how difficult it can be to translate legislation into effective protection.
Age verification remains a major obstacle, while governments must balance child safety with privacy concerns and the practical difficulties of monitoring billions of online accounts.
For Meta and other technology companies, the challenge is becoming increasingly global. Regulators are no longer focusing solely on harmful content but are also examining the underlying design of platforms, including recommendation algorithms, endless scrolling, autoplay, notifications and other features that can encourage prolonged use.
The US settlement has therefore opened a new front in the international campaign to regulate social media and protect children.
As governments in Australia, Europe, Asia and elsewhere examine the implications of Meta’s concessions in the United States, pressure is growing on the company and its peers to demonstrate that protections for young users can be implemented effectively — and not merely promised.