The United Kingdom has officially asked Meta to extend the new regulations agreed upon for users under the age of 18 in the United States to British teens. The request comes as the UK prepares broader regulations regarding social media access among children and adolescents.
In negotiations with a bipartisan group of 52 US Attorney Generals, Meta agreed to implement new restrictions for users under the age of 18 on Facebook and Instagram. The court-approved agreement also includes payments of up to USD $18 billion to resolve lawsuits over the next decade related to the possible effects of these platforms on children and adolescents.
The measures, which will automatically apply in participating US states and territories, include a two-hour limit per day on Facebook and Instagram, which can only be deactivated with parental authorization, and a default blocking of both apps between midnight and 6:00 a.m.
Meta will also eliminate notifications between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., offer the ability to set up a non-personalized feed, hide the number of likes by default, and strengthen its age verification and parental supervision systems. Direct messages will be excluded from time limits and night and school restrictions.
In response to this agreement, the British Government asked that adolescents in the country receive the same protections. Pat McFadden, secretary of Labor and Pensions, has said that young Americans should not have higher levels of protections than youth in their country.
However, the country is already preparing a broader intervention. In June 2026, the government announced its intention to prevent social media platforms from providing their services to children under the age of 16. The necessary provisions still need to be submitted to Parliament and are expected to be presented during the spring of 2027.
The plan provides additional restrictions for 16 and 17-year-olds. These include a default night lock between midnight and 6:00 a.m. and the automatic disabling of features designed to extend usage time, such as auto-play and continuous recommendation feeds. These users, however, will be able to modify the configuration.
From product decision to a regulatory obligation
The new measures reflect a change in the relationship between major technology platforms and governments.
Previously, the responsibility for time limits, algorithms, and content exposure fell on parents. Now, regulators are looking to shift a larger part of that responsibility to the companies themselves.
The US regulatory agreement could also set a benchmark for other markets. The South Korean Media and Communications Commission, for example, noted that measures to reduce overuse should apply to young people around the world and not be limited to the United States.
For Meta, this means that decisions related to age, algorithms, notifications, and time limits may no longer respond exclusively to product design. They will likely be conditioned by different regulatory requirements in each country.
Sources: Meta Newsroom, Gobierno del Reino Unido, Biblioteca de la Cámara de los Comunes, Reuters sobre Corea del Sur and The Guardian sobre la petición británica.