Teo Nie Ching says Meta must extend Facebook, Instagram safeguards worldwide for under‑18s

KULAI, Sept 5 — The government hopes Meta will expand its safety features for Facebook and Instagram users under the age of 18 worldwide as soon as possible, including daily usage limits and restrictions on access at night.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the safety features should not be limited to users in the United States, as young people in other countries, including Malaysia, also face the risk of internet addiction.

She said the measures are in line with the government’s direction to ensure that young people, particularly those under 16, do not use social media excessively.

“These measures are very important to ensure that internet addiction can be properly addressed, and we want to ensure that when everyone has access to the internet, young people also receive the protection they need,” she told reporters today after inspecting a damaged futsal court in Taman Desa Kulai.

Teo said this when commenting on the settlement of legal action involving Meta and 47 states, the District of Columbia and several US territories over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed with features that could cause addiction among children and teenagers.

Under the settlement, Meta has agreed to pay up to US$17.1 billion, in addition to making several changes to Facebook and Instagram to strengthen protections for underage users.

Teo said the changes include limiting the use of both platforms to two hours a day for users under 18, as well as restricting access between midnight and 6am.

Meta will also improve age verification and reduce several features that could encourage excessive use.

“Features such as ‘infinite scroll’ and ‘auto-feed’ will be discontinued, and Meta has also pledged to hide the number of ‘likes’ for underage users.

“This is to ensure that young people do not become overly focused on chasing ‘likes’ to the extent of doing something unwise simply to make their posts go viral,” she said.

She said social media platforms in Malaysia are still being given a grace period to implement measures related to restricting usage among underage users.

“Some people have asked me why their children aged 16 and below can still use social media. This is because the platforms requested a grace period, and we are still within that period,” she said.

Teo said measures to protect young people must be implemented comprehensively by all social media platforms and not just Meta.

She said restrictions on Facebook and Instagram alone would not be sufficient if other platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat did not take similar measures.

“I think this is the right time for all social media platforms to give this serious consideration and ensure that their platforms are safe for young people.

“These measures are very important to ensure that internet addiction can be properly addressed and that young people receive the protection they need,” she said. — Bernama