Changing the Feed Without Removing the Social Network

The proposed Meta settlement addresses not only when a teenager can use Facebook and Instagram, but what the teenager encounters during the allowed time. This chapter examines the feed choice, social-comparison controls, content-safety duties, reporting process, and protections against suspicious contacts. The practical judgment is to distinguish five different interventions—changing ranking, hiding social signals, preventing exposure, responding to reports, and limiting risky contact—so that no single “safety feature” is asked to prove more than it can.

The distinction matters because the states’ allegations concern a system of attention and exposure. A daily limit can end access, but it does not determine whether the remaining feed is chronological or personalized. A content policy can prohibit a category, but it cannot guarantee that no harmful post will appear. A reporting deadline can improve the response after a problem is noticed, but it cannot show that the original recommendation was harmless. The proposed terms work across these layers rather than treating them as interchangeable.

Changing ranking and reducing social comparison

The agreement requires Meta’s social-media platforms to provide Teen Users with a reasonably accessible option to select a Non-Personalized Feed as their default home feed within four months of the Effective Date. The defined feed is populated by accounts the teen follows or has friended and displays that content in chronological order. Meta can still control the appearance of content when reasonably necessary for platform integrity, security, moderation, or legal compliance. That exception matters: “non-personalized” does not mean unmoderated, and chronological does not mean that every item connected to a followed account must appear regardless of safety rules.

The option has to be easy enough to find to count as a real choice. Within ten days of identifying a new Teen User account, and every 90 days afterward unless the teen disables reminders, Meta must clearly prompt the user about switching the default home feed. The prompt cannot preselect or prioritize accepting or rejecting the switch, and it must present the choice independently from other settings. For a teen enrolled in Parental Supervision, a supervising parent can enable the Non-Personalized Feed as the default and can turn on additional protective settings. If a parent has enabled one of those protections, reverting to a less restrictive setting requires the parent’s approval.

This design changes the choice architecture without banning social connection. A teen can still see posts from followed or friended accounts and can still use a social network. The proposed difference is how the home feed is populated: a chronological stream of chosen connections is offered as an alternative to a feed that uses personalization to select and order content. The agreement’s definition allows moderation and integrity controls, so the proposed option is not a promise that all ranking disappears. Nor does the source material show how many teens would select it, how often they would keep it, or whether doing so would reduce time spent or exposure to harmful material.

The settlement pairs feed choice with two changes to social comparison. Teen Users would, by default, not see numbers of likes or reactions on Meta’s platforms. A supervising parent would have to approve a change to that default. Meta would also disable Cosmetic Procedure Filters for users under 18. The agreement defines such a filter as a digital or augmented-reality effect that reshapes or idealizes a face in a way that could not be achieved without cosmetic surgery or extreme makeup.