South Korea's broadcasting regulator has called on Meta to apply its recently announced youth protection features worldwide, not just in the United States. The Korea Communications Commission issued this request on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for consistent safeguards for minors across all markets.

The commission stated that social media companies must shoulder greater responsibility in protecting children and adolescents online. This appeal comes as South Korea's National Assembly reviews seven pending bills aimed at strengthening youth internet protections, with regulators believing that enhanced obligations for platform providers are essential for creating a safe social media environment for Korean teenagers.

This development follows Monday's landmark settlement in the United States, where Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion (approximately 1.21 trillion yuan) to resolve lawsuits filed by multiple states. The states had accused Meta of designing its products to encourage teen addiction and harm mental health. As part of the agreement, Meta will modify numerous features on Facebook and Instagram, including imposing time limits, restricting notifications, strengthening age verification, offering algorithm-free feed options, and hiding like counts and other engagement metrics from young users.

The Korean regulator specifically highlighted that several corrective measures Meta proposed should be extended to all adolescent users globally. These include limiting algorithm-driven content recommendations, concealing engagement indicators such as like counts, and reducing push notifications designed to lure users back to the platform repeatedly.

South Korea is simultaneously advancing its own regulatory framework for minors' social media usage. Growing societal concerns about excessive screen time among youth, coupled with increasing scrutiny of recommendation algorithms that keep young users engaged for extended periods, have prompted legislative action. In July, Korea Communications Commission Chairman Kim Jong-cheol briefed President Lee Jae-myung on policy plans indicating the commission is exploring phased restrictions on minors' social media access. Proposed measures currently under discussion include prohibiting social media use for children under 14 and imposing limits on algorithm and platform feature exposure for teenagers aged 14 to 19 that could potentially lead to excessive usage.