Meta to Discuss South Korean Youth Screen-Time Limits After US Agreement
At a round-table in Seoul’s Gangnam district, Meta outlined its youth-protection measures and said it plans to talk with Korean officials about appropriate solutions. The company recently agreed with US state attorneys to cap daily use for minors at two hours and to require parental consent for extensions. While South Korean accounts already receive usage alerts and content filters, they lack overall time caps or night-time blocks. Meta also hinted that any future restrictions could be part of broader discussions on youth safety across its platforms.
Meta held a "Screen Smart" round-table in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu district to present its youth-safety initiatives and to signal readiness to negotiate with the Korean government on possible usage limits for Instagram and Facebook. The company recently secured an agreement with US state attorneys that restricts users under 18 to two hours per day and blocks access from midnight to 6 a.m., with parental approval needed to lift the cap.
In South Korea, existing features include hourly usage notifications and harmful-content filters, but no comprehensive daily or nighttime restrictions. Meta’s Asia-Pacific policy head, Philip Chu, said the firm will consider which solutions fit the Korean context and noted that similar protections are being urged for TikTok and YouTube, though no response has been received yet. The firm also plans to roll out parental controls for its text-based platform Threads starting on the 18th of the month.
How this was covered
- The two sides describe this in almost entirely different words
- Centrist coverage is the most divided on this story
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTCentrist coverage reports the bill’s legislative progress and its shift from a ban to a consent-based approach, while right-leaning coverage questions the need for any ban, citing research that downplays harms and urging parental control instead of government restrictions.
CENTER
Centrist coverage frames the story as a legislative update, highlighting the bill’s amendment to drop a ban and its requirement for parental consent.
RIGHT
Right-leaning coverage frames the debate as unsupported by evidence, stressing studies that show minimal impact of social-media use and arguing that parents, not the state, should manage children’s screen time.
The right emphasises
- debate lacks solid evidence of harm
- settlement does not establish danger
- research shows negligible impact on teen mental health
