South Korea Urges Meta to Apply Teen Protection Measures Globally

South Korea's media regulator is urging Meta Platforms to extend its recently proposed measures for protecting young users to a global scale. The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) stated that social media companies must assume greater responsibility for safeguarding children and teenagers online.

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believes that in order to create an environment in which Korean youth can use social networking services safely, it is necessary to strengthen social media providers' responsibility to protect minors.

This push comes in the wake of significant settlements in the United States, where Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion. The company committed to implementing changes across Facebook and Instagram after numerous states accused it of designing features that fostered youth addiction and negatively impacted mental health. These changes include usage time limits, notification restrictions, enhanced age verification, options for non-algorithmic feeds, and hiding engagement metrics like 'likes' for younger users.

The KMCC specifically highlighted Meta's proposed adjustments to features that may encourage excessive use, such as algorithm-based content recommendations and push notifications. The regulator believes these modifications, along with hiding 'likes,' should ideally be applied to all young users worldwide. South Korea itself is advancing stricter oversight for minors' social media use amid growing concerns about excessive screen time and the influence of algorithms.

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would ideally be applied to youth users worldwide as well.

The debate mirrors a broader international effort to protect children online, although proposed restrictions have faced criticism regarding privacy and enforcement challenges. In the UK, the government expects Meta's new protections to apply domestically, with British Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden stating he does not want American youth to have superior protection. Poland's minister of digital affairs has also requested the European Commission fine Meta and implement tools to combat scams and illegal advertising.

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I also call on Meta to immediately introduce effective tools to eliminate scams, false advertising, and the promotion of illegal applications.

Globally, governments are seeking to curb children's access to harmful online content. Australia, for instance, enacted a world-first ban last year on social media for children under 16. The push for these protections underscores a growing consensus on the need for greater accountability from social media giants regarding the well-being of their youngest users.

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a higher rate of protection