Meta recently introduced teen safety commitments to protect young users from social media’s adverse effects. However, the commitments remain US-only for now. The rules announced by the company limit how long teenagers can use Facebook and Instagram and give parents more control over what their children see. UK officials want Meta to bring similar protections to British teenagers.
Meta’s newly announced teen safety commitments remain US-exclusive for now
Meta has announced its new teen safety commitments that cover users aged 13 to 17. It’s part of a settlement with dozens of US states over claims involving children’s privacy and social media addiction. Apart from the new rules, the tech giant will also pay the states up to $18 billion.
As per the new rules, Instagram and Facebook will have a two-hour default time limit for users under 18. Both apps will be blocked during nighttime hours. A new parental control feature lets parents make those limits stricter. That’s not all; teenagers will also be reminded that they can switch to a feed that does not rely on Meta’s algorithm. Parents or guardians can set that type of feed as the default.
Meta plans to extend new safety rules to other countries
As said earlier, the newly announced rules will remain exclusive to the US states for now. However, a Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company will monitor the results and continue discussions with governments in other countries. UK government, for instance, is already asking Meta to introduce a similar teenage safety feature in the country. Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, said the UK does not want American teenagers to have stronger protections than young people in Britain.
As for the rules themselves, the tech giant has said the two-hour limit will remain in place for at least the next five years. Moreover, it also said it could make the limits stricter if TikTok and YouTube introduce similar measures. That means the rules could change if other major platforms decide to follow Meta’s lead.
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