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UK expects Meta to extend child-safety protections tied to US settlement
Meta’s US deal included a default two-hour daily limit for under-18s and overnight notification and user-activity blocks, which the UK government now wants applied in Britain.
The UK government expects Meta to extend child-safety protections in Britain that the company agreed to after settling a US lawsuit that could cost Meta up to $18 billion, the Guardian Business reports. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the government does not want children in the US to receive a higher level of protection than children in the UK. He said he expects Meta to roll out the same safeguards following the settlement reached Wednesday with dozens of US states. As part of the US terms, Meta agreed to multiple default controls for users under 18, including a two-hour daily time limit that can be lifted only by a parent, a default block between midnight and 6am, and default restrictions on user notifications at night and during the school day. The outlet notes that some limits in the US deal go further than what is currently proposed in the UK, including bans on under-18s displaying like and reaction counts and cosmetic procedure image filters. McFadden also pointed to the broader policy backdrop, saying the UK has announced plans for an Australia-style ban on social media for children under 16 that is set to come into force by early 2027. The Guardian Business adds that Meta has urged other platforms such as TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar standards.