Singapore to legislate stronger safeguards, possible daily time limit for teens on social media

Singapore plans to introduce legislation next year requiring social media platforms to implement stronger safeguards for teenagers, potentially including a daily time limit on usage, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo. If a platform refuses to implement these safeguards, the government intends to raise the minimum age of access to 18.

The government seeks to understand what measures platforms can take to protect teenage users from "stranger danger" and direct messages from unknown individuals. Concerns also include algorithmic feeds, autoplay, infinite scroll, and other features that may contribute to excessive usage. Singapore currently has a code of practice for six designated social media services, and the government's approach will be similar to Meta's US settlement, but with some differences in details.

Meta agreed to defaulting autoplay off and limiting daily usage to two hours across Facebook and Instagram, with the time reduced to one hour per platform in a second phase. An expert panel set up by the Ministry of Health found that one in three users aged 15 to 17 spend more than three hours a day on social media, while one in six users aged 10 to 24 display signs of problematic use.

The government aims to establish a daily time limit for social media usage to encourage a balanced life.