Meta's move to restrict teenagers' use of social media in the US shows companies have tools to better protect young people online, Australian officials said on Thursday, while in the Philippines, an official said the US company had pledged to boost protection there too.Meta's up to $18 billion settlement with nearly all US states over social media harm to teenagers has opened a new front in a global government fight to protect children and curb addiction to platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Governments around the world are trying to curb children's access to harmful online content, including a world-first ban in Australia late last year on social media for children under 16.
Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said in an email to Reuters that social media companies "have the tools at their disposal to protect young people from their addictive features but have chosen not to use them".
Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion over a decade and limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under an agreement with nearly all US states to resolve claims that it designed those platforms to addict children. Meta denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
The deal brings sweeping changes to Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms in the United States, including imposing a default two-hour limit on its apps for users under the age of 18.
