GoKawiilMeta's US child-safety settlement could push UK to seek similar rules
Meta has agreed in the US to add safety features for children on Facebook and Instagram, including overnight access restrictions, usage time limits, and prompts for young users spending long periods on the apps. This falls short of the UK's own approach, which includes an outright social media ban for under-16s starting in 2027 and additional curfews for 16 and 17-year-olds.
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Former Meta and TikTok executives suggest tech companies rarely act on child safety without being compelled, but now that Meta has accepted these measures in the US, the UK government may feel emboldened to demand similar or stricter protections. It also raises the possibility that Meta could extend these features globally to preempt tougher regulation elsewhere, potentially reshaping how platforms handle child safety worldwide.
- Meta's US settlement introduces curfews, time limits and prompts for young Facebook and Instagram users, but not an outright ban.
- The UK's Online Safety Act goes further, banning social media entirely for under-16s from 2027.
- Experts believe the UK may now push Meta for similar restrictions, and Meta could roll out these features globally to avoid harsher bans.
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Published there as: “What does the Meta settlement mean for the UK? Five things we learned”
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