The UK Government expects Meta to introduce in Britain the same child safety protections it has agreed to implement in the United States after settling a major legal case for up to $18 billion (£13.3 billion). Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said he did not want children in the UK to receive weaker protections than their American counterparts, while stressing that Britain is already preparing wider restrictions on children’s access to social media.
What child safety measures has Meta agreed to in the US?
Meta has agreed to significant changes to how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under the US settlement. The measures include a default two-hour daily limit for users under 18, although parents can override the restriction. The company will also introduce a default overnight block between midnight and 6am, alongside measures to mute notifications during school hours.
Other measures include hiding the number of likes and reactions displayed to teenagers, restricting certain extreme cosmetic filters and strengthening age-assurance systems. Meta says it will use technology to identify accounts that may belong to children under 13 or teenagers who have registered using an adult date of birth.
The agreement followed allegations from US states that Meta had designed Instagram and Facebook with features intended to keep young users engaged for longer and had failed adequately to address potential risks to children. Meta has denied wrongdoing. The settlement is subject to judicial approval.
Why does the UK Government want the US protections introduced in Britain?
Mr McFadden said the Government expected Meta to extend the new protections to UK users because it would be unacceptable for American teenagers to receive stronger safeguards.
Asked by Sky News whether the company should roll out the measures in Britain, Mr McFadden said: “Yeah, we would.” He added that the Government did not want young people in the US to have “a higher rate of protection” than young people in the UK.
The minister also emphasised that the Government was not relying solely on technology companies to act voluntarily. He pointed to planned restrictions on children’s access to social media and measures intended to curb night-time use and addictive design features.
His comments increase pressure on Meta to demonstrate that child safety standards will be applied consistently across major markets rather than being limited to jurisdictions where companies face particularly strong legal or regulatory pressure.
How does the US settlement compare with the UK’s planned rules?
The UK is already pursuing a broader regulatory approach. In June, the Government announced plans to prevent social media companies from providing their services to children under 16, with the restrictions expected to come into force in spring 2027.
The Government’s July response to its consultation on children’s online safety also outlined default protections for 16- and 17-year-olds. These include overnight access restrictions between midnight and 6am, muted push notifications overnight, and the disabling by default of autoplay and personalised feeds.
That means Britain is pursuing measures that could ultimately go further than the US settlement in one important respect: younger teenagers could be prevented from accessing social media altogether rather than simply having their use restricted.
However, some of Meta’s US measures are not currently reflected in the same form in the UK’s proposals. These include the default two-hour daily limit for under-18s and restrictions on displaying likes and reactions.
What are experts saying about Meta’s new child safety rules?
The settlement has been welcomed by child-safety campaigners as evidence that major technology platforms can be required to change how their products operate. Amnesty International described the agreement as a potential turning point for social media and argued that safety should be incorporated into platform design rather than introduced only after harm has been identified.
However, concerns remain about whether time limits and parental controls address the deeper problems associated with social media design. Critics argue that features such as infinite scrolling, personalised recommendation systems and autoplay can encourage prolonged use even when individual users have access to safety settings.
The UK Parliament’s Education Committee has previously raised similar concerns. It said addictive and persuasive design features could contribute to excessive screen use, sleep disruption and other problems among children, and recommended mandatory restrictions on high-risk design features rather than relying primarily on optional settings or parental controls.
What does the settlement mean for Meta and other social media companies?
The financial agreement is potentially worth around $18 billion over 10 years, although the final amount depends partly on conditions involving other major platforms. Meta says approximately $12.7 billion of the payment is allocated to participating states, while a further roughly $5.3 billion is conditional on YouTube and TikTok adopting specified measures and making corresponding payments.
The agreement therefore extends beyond Meta. It puts additional pressure on TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other platforms to demonstrate that they can protect younger users from potentially addictive features.
The case could also influence regulators elsewhere. Governments in Europe and other countries are examining ways to restrict children’s exposure to harmful content and platform features. The European Commission, for example, has said it is waiting for Meta to propose changes addressing potentially addictive design.
Could Meta face stronger regulation in the UK?
The UK already has a substantial regulatory framework through the Online Safety Act, with Ofcom responsible for overseeing platforms’ compliance with children’s safety obligations. In May, Ofcom said Meta was among companies agreeing to additional measures designed to reduce risks to children from strangers online.
The Government’s latest position suggests that regulatory expectations could now move closer to the standards established in the US settlement. If Meta does not voluntarily introduce equivalent safeguards, ministers and regulators could face pressure to consider whether existing UK rules are sufficient.
At the same time, the Government’s planned under-16 social media restrictions mean that the UK regulatory debate is already moving beyond individual safety features towards questions about age limits, platform design and the wider role of social media in children’s lives.
What happens next for child safety on Meta’s platforms?
The immediate issue is whether Meta will apply the US protections to its UK services and how closely those measures will align with the Government’s planned regulations. The US settlement itself still requires judicial approval before its terms take effect.
For Britain, the next significant milestone will be the implementation of the Government’s proposed under-16 social media restrictions and additional protections for older teenagers. The outcome will help determine whether UK users receive protections that match, or potentially exceed, those agreed in the US.
The wider significance is likely to extend well beyond Meta. As governments increasingly focus on age assurance, addictive design, screen time and algorithmic recommendations, technology companies face growing pressure to make child safety a fundamental part of how their platforms operate. The coming months will show whether Meta applies its new US standards globally and whether UK regulators decide that further statutory safeguards are necessary.
