Singapore to propose social media restrictions and time limits for teenagers

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Singaporean Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo announced plans for legislation to mandate stronger social media safeguards for teenagers, including potential daily time limits and restrictions on features like autoplay and infinite scroll. The government signaled that platforms failing to implement these protections could face a raised minimum age requirement of 18 for access. This initiative followed findings from a Ministry of Health expert panel that one in three users aged 15 to 17 spend over three hours daily on social media, with one in six users aged 10 to 24 exhibiting signs of problematic usage. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also highlighted the issue during his National Day Rally, stating that current self-declaration age verification methods were insufficient.

Consequences

Social media platforms operating in Singapore will likely face increased regulatory pressure to implement more robust age assurance and safety measures, such as disabling autoplay by default. These requirements may force a shift in business operations as platforms align their services with the government's specific demands or risk losing teen users to age-restricted access.

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