Gov't weighs tighter social media restrictions for minors, targeting addictive features
The government is considering expanding restrictions on minors’ social media use beyond age limits for account registration to include regulations on recommendation algorithms and platform features to curb excessive use. However, questions remain over how the proposed measures can effectively protect minors from excessive social media use while safeguarding their freedom of expression and access…
The Korean government is contemplating tightening restrictions on social media use by minors, going beyond the current limits on account registration age. The proposed measures would encompass regulation of recommendation algorithms and platform features to curb excessive usage. However, there are uncertainties regarding the measures' effectiveness in shielding minors from excessive social media consumption while maintaining their right to freedom of expression and access to information.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) is contemplating amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act, which would prohibit children under 14 from creating social media accounts and mandate platform operators to verify users' ages upon registration. The commission introduced these proposals during a presidential policy briefing in July.
The measures would also involve disabling personalized recommendation algorithms that analyze users' interests and browsing histories, as well as disabling default settings for features like infinite scrolling, which could potentially foster excessive use, for accounts belonging to users aged 14 to 19. This aims to regulate platform design and usage patterns for this demographic.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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