South Korea media commission says Meta's youth protection changes should apply globally

South Korea's media regulator said on Thursday that measures proposed by Meta to curb potentially addictive features for young users should ideally be applied worldwide, as Seoul considers tighter rules on how social media platforms serve minors.

The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) said in a statement to Reuters that social media companies needed to take greater responsibility for protecting children and teenagers and pointed to seven bills pending in the country's parliament aimed at strengthening youth protections online.

The commission "believes that 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," the regulator said.

The comments followed landmark US settlements announced on Wednesday under which Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion and implement a series of changes to Facebook and Instagram after several states accused the company of designing products that contributed to youth addiction and harmed mental health.

Read: Meta reaches $16.68b settlement over social media harms to children

The measures include limits on usage time, restrictions on notifications, stronger age-verification tools, the option of non-algorithmic feeds and hiding "likes" and similar engagement metrics for younger users.

The KMCC said that, among Meta's proposed corrective measures, changes to features that may encourage excessive use, including algorithm-based content recommendations, display of engagement metrics such as likes, and push notifications designed to draw users back onto platforms, "would ideally be applied to youth users worldwide as well."

South Korea has also been moving toward stricter oversight of social media use by minors amid growing concerns about excessive screen time and the role of recommendation algorithms in keeping young users engaged.

At a policy briefing to President Lee Jae Myung in July, KMCC Chairman Kim Jong-cheol said the regulator was reviewing phased restrictions on social media use by minors, including limits on algorithms and other features that could encourage excessive use among teenagers.

Kim said that seven related legislative proposals were already pending in the National Assembly. A KMCC spokesperson said on Thursday that the commission supports efforts to advance the bills through public discussion and consultation.

The proposals under discussion include restricting social media access for users under 14 and limiting algorithms and other platform features that could encourage excessive use among teenagers aged 14 to 19, Kim said.

The debate mirrors a broader global push to protect children online, though proposed restrictions on minors' social media use have drawn criticism over privacy concerns and questions about enforcement.