The UK government wants similar teen time limits on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta’s new Instagram and Facebook policies for under 18s — which it will enforce as part of a settlement in a high-profile child safety lawsuit — will only apply in the US as things stand. The measures include time limits on the apps for those aged 13 to 17 and reminders that they can switch to a non-algorithmic feed, which their parents or guardians can set as the default.
A Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg it will monitor the changes. The company will remain in conversation with governments elsewhere, the spokesperson added.
The UK government, for one, seems particularly interested in next steps for teen protections, amid a growing global focus on social media safety for younger users. The country is one of several jurisdictions that have pledged to ban social media for under 16s.
Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, said the UK government expects Meta to apply the same rules there. “We don’t want a situation where young people in America have got a higher rate of protection than young people in the UK,” McFadden told Sky News, according to The Independent. “But we’re not just leaving it to Meta. We’re taking action ourselves.”
Meta agreed to the measures to settle claims from dozens of states over children’s privacy and social media addiction. The company will pay the states up to $18 billion and enforce policies such as a two-hour default time limit on Facebook and Instagram for under 18s and a nighttime block on the apps (parents will be able to reduce those restrictions). Meta pledged to make the time limits stricter if TikTok and YouTube get onboard as well — as it stands, it only committed to enforcing those particular measures for five years.
Critics have pointed out that Meta is attempting to lead the charge on child safety measures and establish the rules for other platforms and that it’s doing so without admitting to any wrongdoing (of note, the company published its own research in 2021 indicating that Instagram was harmful to teens). In any case, by only enforcing these measures in the US as things stand, Meta is trying to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to balancing child safety and maintaining engagement levels on its platforms.
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