Meta's recent decision to let teenagers in the United States make a non-algorithmic feed their default marks another major development in our fight for greater user control over recommendation systems.
The changes, introduced as part of a wider agreement with US state attorneys general, will allow teenagers on Facebook and Instagram to choose a feed that is not personalized by Meta's recommendation systems. Teens will also be able to switch off autoplay, while additional safeguards will introduce tighter screen-time controls, nighttime restrictions, and stronger parental settings.
The move comes as momentum around user agency continues to build, with the European Commission now proposing new rules covering safer recommender systems, harmful feeds, and addictive design.
For Cybersmile, this is one of the clearest signs yet that the principles behind Stop the Forced Feed are moving into mainstream platform design. The campaign has consistently called for people to have meaningful control over the recommendation systems that shape their online experience. At the heart of that work is the simple idea that users should not have to accept an algorithmically curated feed as the price of participating online. Meta's latest changes show that this kind of choice is not only possible but also increasingly expected.
Why this is important for Cybersmile
We launched Stop the Forced Feed alongside our original research into how recommendation systems behave and how users feel about the control they have over them. The findings were stark: only 36% of people said they felt in control of their algorithm and the content they saw on social media, while 65% wanted more control and 69% wanted greater insight into why certain content was being recommended to them.
Our behavioral testing also found that harmful material could be surfaced quickly and repeatedly by recommendation systems. Within three days, 90% of test accounts had encountered racist content, while 60% had been exposed to misogyny and 60% to violence.
Those findings helped shape Stop the Forced Feed and the development of our PROTECT framework, which calls for safer defaults, greater transparency, and stronger user control over recommendation systems. A core principle of the campaign is content with consent: people should be able to decide whether personalized recommendation systems determine what they see, and Meta's new measures move directly towards that principle.
Moving the conversation beyond harmful content
One of the most important changes we have seen during 2026 is a shift in how online safety is being discussed. For years, the focus has often been on individual pieces of harmful or illegal content. Finally, governments and regulators are now also looking at the systems that decide what people see, how often they see it, and how difficult it is to disengage.
In July, the UK government announced that social media services will be required to switch off personalized feeds and autoplay by default for 16- and 17-year-olds, while allowing older teenagers to change those settings themselves. The European Commission has also intensified its focus on recommender systems. In July, it preliminarily found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act over the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook, highlighting highly personalized recommender systems, infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications among the features under scrutiny. These developments closely reflect the issues and potential solutions that we have been raising through Stop the Forced Feed.
Since launching the campaign, we have taken our evidence directly to policymakers and regulators, including the European Commission, UK decision-makers, and other institutions involved in online safety. We have consistently argued that algorithmic harm and user agency need to be treated as part of the core online safety debate. That argument is now increasingly visible in both policy and platform design.
Pressure is building beyond the US
Meta's changes have been followed by wider international pressure. The UK government has said British children should not receive a lower standard of protection than children in the United States, while the European Commission has confirmed further exchanges with Meta over protections for children in Europe.
Meta has also publicly called on TikTok and YouTube to introduce similar safeguards, raising the possibility that non-personalized feeds and stronger user controls could become a wider industry standard.
Stop the Forced Feed was built around the simple idea that people should have more control over the algorithms shaping what they see online. Meta's move shows that this kind of change is possible and that the direction we have been pushing for is starting to become part of mainstream platform design.
Scott Freeman, CEO, The Cybersmile Foundation
For Stop the Forced Feed, this is a significant moment. The issue is no longer whether platforms can give users greater control over recommendation systems, because they clearly can. The question is whether that control should become standard across platforms, age groups, and jurisdictions.
From campaign to industry change
When we launched Stop the Forced Feed, we called for a transfer of power from platforms to users. We argued that people should be able to understand, influence, and control the systems shaping their online experience. We strengthened that case with original evidence, public research, and a practical framework for change. Six months later, that same direction is visible across platform changes, government policy, and regulatory action.
Meta is allowing teenagers to make a non-personalized feed their default. The UK is moving towards restrictions on personalized feeds and autoplay. The European Commission is scrutinizing highly personalized recommender systems and addictive design. Other major platforms are now under pressure to follow. That is exactly the kind of industry movement that Stop the Forced Feed was created to drive.
There is still more to do. A non-algorithmic feed is only one form of control, and we will continue to advocate for deeper user agency over the topics, categories, and recommendation signals that shape individual feeds and experiences.
The forced feed is no longer being treated as an unavoidable part of social media. It is fast becoming a design choice that we will continue pushing platforms, governments, and regulators to justify.