Meta’s New Child Safety Rules Renew Calls for Wider Social Media Regulation
Meta’s decision to restrict children’s use of Instagram and Facebook to two hours a day is renewing calls for tougher regulation of social media platforms, as concerns grow over the effects of excessive online activity on children and teenagers.
The new measures, which form part of a $171 billion settlement involving 29 US states, are designed to reduce prolonged use and strengthen safeguards for young users. The restrictions include mandatory breaks during extended sessions, overnight access blocks and limits on notifications during school hours.
Meta is also expected to strengthen age verification, parental controls and protections against harmful content, including material linked to bullying, eating disorders, suicide and self-harm. Features that can encourage unhealthy social comparison, such as visible like counts and certain beauty filters, will also face restrictions.
The move is likely to increase pressure on other major social media platforms to introduce stronger protections for children rather than leaving safety measures largely to individual companies. With young people using multiple platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other emerging services, child-safety advocates may argue that regulating one platform at a time is not enough and that broader rules are needed to establish common standards across the social media industry.
