Florida has asked a state judge to impose immediate restrictions on Facebook and Instagram for young users while the state’s consumer-protection case against Meta proceeds.
The motion for a temporary injunction, filed Wednesday in Pasco County, seeks a package of rules more exacting than the measures Meta accepted in a recent national settlement. The state wants Meta to identify and remove Florida users younger than 14, cap teenagers’ use across its applications at two hours a day, and disable autoplay and infinite scrolling for them.
Florida also asks the court to stop targeted advertising to teenagers and to cut off direct messaging once a user reaches the daily limit. Those are requests, not court-ordered obligations. A judge has not yet ruled on the motion, and the state will have to satisfy the standards for interim relief before any of the restrictions can take effect.
The filing grows out of Florida’s continuing lawsuit, which alleges that Meta knowingly designed Instagram and Facebook to encourage compulsive use by children and misled families about the platforms’ safety. Meta denies wrongdoing and says it has invested heavily in protections for younger users.
The company argues that Florida chose litigation after declining to join a settlement reached with most other states and the District of Columbia. That agreement provided for payments of as much as $18 billion and changes to Meta’s products. Florida says the settlement does not adequately protect children in the state and points to Meta’s agreement to redesign certain features as evidence that the changes it now seeks are technically possible.
The injunction fight will not decide the merits of Florida’s broader allegations. It will instead test whether the state has shown a sufficient likelihood of success and a risk of harm that cannot be repaired later. Meta will have an opportunity to oppose the motion before the court determines whether any temporary limits are justified.
