Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Indiana Senate Republicans will always prioritize the health and safety of Hoosier kids.
One area we have been focusing on is social media.
For years, social media companies have used addictive features such as "likes" and endless scrolling to increase the amount of time children spend on their platforms, even though these features can have a severe impact on children's mental health.
Thankfully, Indiana, along with 46 other states, recently reached a settlement with Meta that will require Facebook and Instagram to implement limits on how teens can use their platforms.
These new limits will help protect kids' mental health by limiting the amount of time they can spend on social media. Teens will be allowed to use Meta-run social media accounts for no more than two hours a day across all platforms.
Along with that, Meta will disable push notifications during school hours, notify parents if their child is searching for content relating to self-harm or messaging with an adult, and set limits on "like" counts and beauty filters.
Under the settlement, the state of Indiana is set to receive at least $296 million from Meta.
This settlement follows a law Senate Republicans passed this year that restricts children younger than 16 in Indiana from setting up social media accounts unless their parents or guardians give consent. If a parent allows their child to open a social media account, certain algorithms and addictive features will be disabled.
Senate Republicans will continue to prioritize the safety of Hoosier kids as the next legislative session approaches. This settlement and Indiana’s new parental consent law are critical steps forward in protecting teens on social media. Hopefully more social media companies will take proactive steps to put the safety of kids at the forefront.
