[Editorial] Youth Social Media Restrictions Are Spreading — South Korea Can No Longer Delay

[Financial News] Social media use by teenagers in the United States will be sharply restricted. Meta Platforms, which operates Facebook and Instagram, has reached a massive settlement with U.S. state governments in a lawsuit over children’s and teenagers’ social media addiction. Advanced economies including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Australia are also moving one after another to regulate social networking services for teenagers. South Korea, too, must move quickly to protect young people from social media addiction.
According to foreign media reports, Meta Platforms agreed to pay damages of up to $18 billion, or nearly 25 trillion won, in the lawsuit filed by 47 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. About $12.7 billion of that amount is a fixed payment, while the rest is conditional and will be paid only if rival platforms adopt similar safety measures. State governments have argued that Meta Platforms exposed children and teenagers to the risk of social media addiction, failed to properly warn users about the dangers, and violated related laws.
What stands out more than the compensation in this settlement is the direct restriction on teenagers’ use of social media. Users under 18 will be limited to two hours of use per day by default, and access will be blocked from midnight to 6 a.m. Notifications will also be suspended during school hours. The settlement also hides likes and reaction counts by default, blocks some appearance-enhancing filters, and adjusts features that increase addiction, such as autoplay and infinite scroll.
The agreement is also likely to put pressure on other competing platforms. Similar lawsuits are already being filed against TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat. Meta Platforms’ settlement could become a turning point that raises youth protection standards across the industry.
Concerns that the indiscriminate consumption of short-form content, addictive algorithms, and exposure to harmful material threaten teenagers’ sleep and mental health have long become a global issue. Because voluntary measures by platform companies have clear limits, calls are growing for governments to step in and establish institutional safeguards to protect young people.
In fact, countries around the world are moving to restrict children’s and teenagers’ use of social media. Representative examples include the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act 2023, and Australia’s law banning social media use for those under 16. Denmark and Indonesia are also pushing ahead with, or reviewing, restrictions on teenagers’ social media use.
In South Korea, related bills have been introduced one after another and regulatory discussions continue, but they have yet to produce results. In the past, the Shutdown law was abolished amid criticism over its effectiveness and concerns that it would hurt the gaming industry, and that precedent has fueled calls for caution. But this time, the situation is different. Meta Platforms has accepted youth restrictions in the United States, and it has previously expanded youth protection measures in response to European regulations. Similar measures are therefore likely to be applied in global markets, including South Korea.
The government should confirm whether the terms of Meta Platforms’ settlement can also be applied in South Korea and review ways to legislate them domestically. It is also urgent for the education sector, parents, and the information technology industry to work together to establish standards suited to Korean conditions. Rather than stopping at blanket regulation, the country should also build an ecosystem that strengthens teenagers’ digital literacy education and platform companies’ responsibility.