Meta’s Teen Safeguards on Facebook, Instagram Apply Only to US

Meta Platforms Inc.’s changes to Instagram and Facebook, part of a series of landmark settlements to resolve claims that the social media networks are a safety risk to children, will apply only to US users for now.

The new guardrails, announced this week as part of settlement talks that will cost the company as much as $18 billion, include limits to how long younger users can spend on the apps and restrictions on switching off safety settings.

The company will monitor those changes, and Meta will continue to engage with other governments, a spokesperson for the company said.

Read More: Meta Says It’ll Pay Up to $18 Billion in Social Media Claims

Social media’s impact on children is getting increasing scrutiny from lawmakers worldwide. Regulators in more than two dozen countries have implemented or are considering curbs to young people’s access to services from Meta and other social media giants including TikTok and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat.

The changes will be closely watched by officials outside of the US.

“It’s interesting they chose to settle yesterday rather than to continue to fight this,” Pat McFadden, UK secretary of state for work and pensions, told the BBC in an interview on Thursday. “This is a huge issue for parents in this country and governments around the world as to how to regulate this.”

The UK has announced plans to ban children under the age of 16 from using the apps and proposed curfews for older teens. “We don’t want a situation where children in the US have got a higher level of protection than children here,” said McFadden.

Social media giants have said they are committed to users’ safety and often point to features they have implemented over the years to protect teens.

The US settlement represents “a bellwether for the rest of the world,” Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, said in a statement. “Meta and other social media platforms that intentionally addict kids and cause irreparable harm and even death must be held to account not just in the US but in other countries all over the world.”