Teo Nie Ching says Meta must extend Facebook, Instagram safeguards worldwide for under‑18s

The Malaysian government urges Meta to expand its safety features on Facebook and Instagram for users under 18 worldwide, emphasizing the need for measures like daily usage limits and night-time access restrictions.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching highlighted that such protections should not be confined to the U.S., as internet addiction is also a concern in Malaysia.

In light of a legal settlement requiring Meta to make platform changes and pay up to US$17.1 billion, she stressed the importance of similar measures across all social media platforms to adequately safeguard underage users.

KULAI, Sept 5 — The government hopes Meta will expand its safety features for Facebook and Instagram users under the age of 18 worldwide as soon as possible, including daily usage limits and restrictions on access at night.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the safety features should not be limited to users in the United States, as young people in other countries, including Malaysia, also face the risk of internet addiction.

She said the measures are in line with the government’s direction to ensure that young people, particularly those under 16, do not use social media excessively.

“These measures are very important to ensure that internet addiction can be properly addressed, and we want to ensure that when everyone has access to the internet, young people also receive the protection they need,” she told reporters today after inspecting a damaged futsal court in Taman Desa Kulai.

Teo said this when commenting on the settlement of legal action involving Meta and 47 states, the District of Columbia and several US territories over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed with features that could cause addiction among children and teenagers.

Under the settlement, Meta has agreed to pay up to US$17.1 billion, in addition to making several changes to Facebook and Instagram to strengthen protections for underage users.

Teo said the changes include limiting the use of both platforms to two hours a day for users under 18, as well as restricting access between midnight and 6am.

Meta will also improve age verification and reduce several features that could encourage excessive use.

“Features such as ‘infinite scroll’ and ‘auto-feed’ will be discontinued, and Meta has also pledged to hide the number of ‘likes’ for underage users.

“This is to ensure that young people do not become overly focused on chasing ‘likes’ to the extent of doing something unwise simply to make their posts go viral,” she said.

She said social media platforms in Malaysia are still being given a grace period to implement measures related to restricting usage among underage users.

“Some people have asked me why their children aged 16 and below can still use social media. This is because the platforms requested a grace period, and we are still within that period,” she said.

Teo said measures to protect young people must be implemented comprehensively by all social media platforms and not just Meta.

She said restrictions on Facebook and Instagram alone would not be sufficient if other platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat did not take similar measures.

“I think this is the right time for all social media platforms to give this serious consideration and ensure that their platforms are safe for young people.

“These measures are very important to ensure that internet addiction can be properly addressed and that young people receive the protection they need,” she said. — Bernama

Budget 2027 plan: Fadhlina pushes Kasih Madani training expansion to protect children nationwide

Emergency remains: Uggah says Serian still under haze alert despite API improvement

Melaka to study proposal to set basic salary at RM2,500-RM2,800, says CM

马来西亚政府敦促 Meta 扩大其在 Facebook 和 Instagram 上针对全球 18 岁以下用户的安全功能，并强调需要采取诸如每日使用限制和夜间访问限制等措施。

马来西亚通讯部副部长张念群强调，此类保护措施不应仅限于美国，因为网络成瘾在马来西亚也是一个令人担忧的问题。

鉴于一项法律和解协议要求 Meta 进行平台变更并支付高达 171 亿美元的赔偿金，她强调了在所有社交媒体平台上采取类似措施的重要性，以充分保护未成年用户。

古来，9 月 5 日——政府希望 Meta 能尽快扩大其针对全球 18 岁以下 Facebook 和 Instagram 用户的安全功能，包括每日使用限制和夜间访问限制。

通讯部副部长张念群表示，这些安全功能不应仅限于美国用户，因为包括马来西亚在内的其他国家的年轻人也面临着网络成瘾的风险。

她表示，这些措施符合政府的指示，旨在确保年轻人，特别是16岁以下的年轻人，不要过度使用社交媒体。

“这些措施对于确保妥善解决网络成瘾问题至关重要，我们希望确保在每个人都能上网的同时，年轻人也能得到他们需要的保护，”她在今天视察完古来花园（Taman Desa Kulai）一处受损的五人制足球场后告诉记者。

Teo 在评论 Meta 与 47 个州、哥伦比亚特区和几个美国领土就 Facebook 和 Instagram 被指控设计的功能可能导致儿童和青少年上瘾而提起的法律诉讼的和解时发表了上述言论。

根据和解协议，Meta 同意支付高达 171 亿美元的赔偿金，此外还将对 Facebook 和 Instagram 进行多项更改，以加强对未成年用户的保护。

Teo表示，这些改变包括限制18岁以下用户每天使用这两个平台的时间不超过两小时，以及限制午夜至凌晨6点之间的访问。

Meta还将改进年龄验证，并减少一些可能导致过度使用的功能。

“诸如‘无限滚动’和‘自动推送’之类的功能将被停用，Meta 还承诺对未成年用户隐藏‘点赞’数量。

“这是为了确保年轻人不会过度关注‘点赞’，以至于为了让自己的帖子走红而做出不明智的事情，”她说。

她表示，马来西亚的社交媒体平台仍被给予一段宽限期，以落实限制未成年用户使用的措施。

“有些人问我，为什么他们16岁及以下的孩子还能使用社交媒体。这是因为这些平台要求给予一段宽限期，而我们目前仍在宽限期内，”她说道。

Teo表示，保护年轻人的措施必须由所有社交媒体平台全面实施，而不仅仅是Meta。

她表示，如果TikTok、YouTube和Snapchat等其他平台不采取类似措施，仅仅限制Facebook和Instagram是不够的。

“我认为现在是所有社交媒体平台认真考虑这个问题，并确保其平台对年轻人安全的时候了。”

她表示：“这些措施至关重要，能够确保网络成瘾问题得到妥善解决，并确保年轻人获得所需的保护。”——马新社

2027年预算计划：法德琳娜推动扩大卡西·马达尼培训项目，以保护全国儿童

紧急情况依然存在：乌加表示，尽管API有所改善，但塞里安仍处于雾霾警报之下。

马六甲州首席部长表示，该州将研究将基本工资设定为2500至2800令吉的提案。