Investing.com -- Florida asked a state judge on Wednesday to order changes to Instagram and Facebook to better protect young users as the state continues its lawsuit against Meta Platforms after declining to join a settlement reached by 48 other states.

Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a request in Pasco County court for a temporary injunction that would require Meta to identify and remove users in Florida under age 14 from the platforms. The filing also seeks to limit teens in the state to two hours daily across all Meta apps and disable features such as autoplay and infinite scroll for young users.

The requested changes would take effect immediately and remain in place as the lawsuit proceeds.

Florida's lawsuit accuses Meta of knowingly designing its platforms to be addictive for young users and misleading consumers about safety measures. The case was among dozens of similar lawsuits filed by states nationwide.

In August, Meta reached settlements with 48 other states and Washington DC, agreeing to pay up to $18 billion and implement changes for teen users of its platforms. The company denied wrongdoing while settling. The total payout represents approximately three to four months of profit and about one month of revenue for Meta.

Uthmeier, a Republican, chose not to join the settlement and continued with Florida's lawsuit.

Florida stated in the filing that the settlement amounted to a "mere slap on the wrist, will be cynically viewed as the cost of doing business, and in any event will not prevent this kind of behavior going forward."

The changes Florida seeks are more restrictive than those Meta agreed to in the settlement, as they would block teens' access to messaging after time limits expire and prohibit the company from showing them advertisements.

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