Singapore to Mandate Social Media Safeguards for Minors

The Government of Singapore plans to introduce legislative changes by early next year to mandate stronger safeguards for young users on designated social media platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, and HardwareZone. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo announced that platforms must implement compulsory age assurance measures to enforce a minimum age of 13.

Proposed restrictions for teenagers include disabling autoplay by default, restricting direct messages from strangers, and implementing a daily time limit, likely under three hours, to counter addictive features such as infinite scroll. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stated that platforms must act to protect children from being "hooked" by engagement-driven features.

The government intends to raise the minimum age of access to 18 for any services unable or unwilling to implement these safeguards. This approach follows recommendations from a Ministry of Health expert panel, which suggested targeting harmful platform features rather than imposing a blanket age ban. Josephine Teo noted that the government is respecting the desire of young people to connect with friends through social media rather than asking them to leave the platforms entirely.