The UK government is urging Meta to extend the safety measures agreed upon in a major US legal settlement to protect children in Britain. This settlement, which could cost Meta up to $18 billion, mandates the introduction of default safety features for users under 18 in the United States. These features include a two-hour daily usage limit, which can be extended only with parental consent, as well as restrictions on nighttime access and notifications during school hours.
UK officials argue that British children should receive the same level of protection as their American counterparts. In response, the government is planning to impose new social media restrictions for minors, such as banning children under 16 from certain platforms and implementing overnight curfews for teenage users. These measures reflect a growing concern about the impact of social media on young people’s well-being.
The recent US settlement has intensified demands for stricter regulation of social media companies and increased scrutiny of features that encourage excessive use. This includes calls for more robust action against mechanisms like infinite scrolling, autoplay, and algorithmic recommendations that are designed to keep users engaged for longer periods.
Despite these proposed restrictions, some experts caution that simply imposing time limits and curfews may not effectively address the broader issues related to engagement-driven features. They argue that these features, which are integral to the platform’s design, could continue to drive problematic usage patterns among young users despite regulatory efforts.
As the UK considers these new measures, the debate highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing technological innovation with the need to protect vulnerable populations, particularly children, from the potential harms of extended social media use.