UN Rights Chief Calls For Stronger Child Safety Measures Across Social Media

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called on governments to strengthen protections for children on social media, saying young people should not have to rely on court cases or companies' voluntary action to be safer online.

His comments came after Meta agreed to pay up to $18bn (£13.3bn) to 48 US states, the District of Columbia and three US territories as part of an agreement to resolve a lawsuit brought by the states.

The settlement includes commitments by Meta to introduce additional child-safety measures, including daily time limits, night mode and age-assurance measures. Meta did not admit wrongdoing as part of the agreement.

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Türk said the measures proposed by Meta were consistent with recommendations from his office, but argued that governments needed to take further action.

"Children should not have to wait for a lawsuit to be safe online," he said.

He also called on governments to "step up rather than wait for courts and companies to act".

Meta Calls For Wider Adoption Of Safety Measures

Under the settlement, Meta's proposed changes include limits on how long children can use its platforms and tools allowing greater parental supervision.

Meta has also called on other major social media companies to introduce comparable protections, saying the measures would only be truly effective "if all our peers join us".

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state was among those involved in the lawsuit, said he wanted TikTok to adopt measures similar to those agreed by Meta.

Bonta told CNBC that he was "interested" in discussions with TikTok and YouTube, while saying TikTok was "interested in speaking with us". Neither company had responded to requests for comment contained in the supplied material.

Bonta also said he had communicated with Snap. He warned that he was "willing to take additional steps" if companies did not voluntarily introduce changes along the lines of those agreed by Meta.

Of the settlement's potential $18bn in penalties, $5.3bn is contingent on YouTube and TikTok also introducing a one-hour daily time limit, night mode and age-assurance measures.

UN Framework Rejects Blanket Social Media Bans

Türk's comments follow a 10-point framework on social-media regulation released by his office in May.

The framework called for stronger data privacy protections and safer platform design. It also recommended improved approaches to verifying users' ages and measures to prevent children from being exposed to addictive design features.

However, the framework did not support outright bans on children's use of social media.

Türk said Meta's proposed changes were aligned with what he had been advocating, while adding: "but we're not there yet".

The settlement and the UN's framework both place attention on how social-media platforms can be designed and regulated to reduce risks for children, while the US states' agreement with Meta leaves further action by other platforms unresolved.