Seoul, South Korea – Meta is in talks with South Korean authorities about possible restrictions on teenagers’ use of social media platforms, amid a government push to explore stricter measures to protect minors online.
Potential restrictions on use by teenagers
The talks come amid growing government pressure around the world to tighten rules protecting children and teenagers on social media platforms, amid increasing concerns about their exposure to inappropriate content and the impact of intensive use of these platforms on them.
South Korea is exploring measures that could limit minors’ access to social media platforms or impose additional controls on how teenagers use them.
Potential impact on Meta platforms
Meta operates major platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, making any new rules in South Korea potentially impactful on the company’s operations in one of Asia’s key markets.
The anticipated measures may include tightening user age verification mechanisms, which may require technology companies to develop more advanced systems to verify the ages of minors before allowing them access to certain services or content.
Compliance costs and increasing pressures
Big technology companies are facing growing pressure from governments to develop child protection tools and enhance digital safety measures, as they try to balance compliance with regulatory requirements with maintaining user access to their platforms.
If new restrictions are implemented in South Korea, compliance costs for social media companies could rise, and the number of teenage users and their activity levels on the platforms could be affected, depending on the nature of the measures adopted by the authorities.
