Under 18s in UK face new security options on Facebook and Instagram after Meta authorized case
Under 18s in the UK could face tightened safety features on Facebook and Instagram after Meta agreed to pay up to £13.3billion as part of a legal battle settlement in the US
Meta has committed to strengthening tools to prevent underage accounts (Image: Jam Press/EE)
Under 18s in the UK could face new safety features on Facebook and Instagram after Meta agreed to pay up to £13.3billion as part of a legal battle settlement in the US.
Meta unveiled a set of new protections and controls that will automatically apply to under-18s on its platforms, subject to court approval and only for participating US states.
Crucially Meta has also committed to strengthening tools to prevent underage accounts being created. Age verification has been an issue for countries around the world with studies consistently showing kids are able to circumvent restrictions.
Cabinet minister Pat McFadden this morning said he would expect Meta to roll out the new safety features for children in the UK. “We don’t want a situation where young people in America have got a higher rate of protection than young people in the UK. But we’re not just leaving it to Meta. We’re taking action ourselves,” the Work and Pensions Secretary told Sky News on Thursday.
“Previous Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a ban on social media for young people to come into force next year. We’re also having night-time curfews. We’ve got to do something about this endless scrolling, which is so addictive for young people.”
A UK social media ban for under 16s is due to come into force next spring, with legislation to be sketched out by the end of the year.
To prevent a cliff edge when kids turn 16, teenagers aged 16 and 17 will also face a default block on accessing social media from midnight to 6am and infinite scrolling, an addictive feature where a user’s feed continuously loads. Autoplay videos, which are clips that automatically play one after another, and recommender feeds that push a personalised stream of content will also be switched off by default.
Though, recent polling by Censuswide suggests a majority (84.6%) of 16- to 18-year-olds would opt out of the optional curfews.
Meta’s latest measures could be more effective, as they are designed only to be turned off by a parent or guardian.
The tech giant’s package contains further safety proposals than the UK plans, including a default two-hour daily time limit across Instagram and Facebook and prompts when a teen has been on the app for 15 minutes continually. Notifications will also appear at 60 and 90 minutes.
They also include plans to hide “likes” on posts, a block on access during school hours and stopping youngsters from accessing make-up filters that mimic the effects of cosmetic surgery.
Meta’s plans to improve its verification of children could take up to a year to be rolled out, but they are crucial for the success of the safety measures. UK studies have shown young people are getting around social media age checks by using fake birthdays, shared accounts, altered photos and even drawing on false moustaches, research has found.
The UK’s Online Safety Act introduced a wide range of safety measures to protect children from online harms – including child abuse or suicidal content – but its effectiveness depends on social media firms introducing robust age verification measures.
Some 85% of under 16s are still accessing social media in Australia despite a ban having come into force last December, according to research published by Australia’s University of Newcastle in June.
Meta’s court agreement on Wednesday resolves claims filed by 47 US states accusing the tech giant of designing Instagram with features that are addictive to children and teenagers and can harm their mental health.
Some online safety campaigners criticised the settlement, with the Molly Rose Foundation saying: “We have been deprived of yet another opportunity to discover more about what Meta really knows about the harm it causes its young and vulnerable users.”
Others welcomed the safety measures announced. Mark Rowland, chief executive at the Mental Health Foundation, said: “We are pleased to see Meta making these changes in America, and now they must be implemented worldwide. There is significant and growing body of evidence showing how social media can harm people’s mental health.”
