SINGAPORE, Sept 1 — Singapore plans to introduce legislation early next year requiring social media platforms to implement stronger safeguards for teenage users, including the possibility of a daily limit on how long they can use the platforms.

CNA reported that Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo said platforms that could not or did not want to introduce the additional safeguards could instead face a requirement to raise their minimum user age to 18.

The government is looking at ways to protect teenagers from risks including “stranger danger”, referring to direct messages from people they do not know, as well as features such as algorithmic feeds, autoplay and infinite scrolling.

Teo said discussions with various groups had included the possibility of imposing a time limit as a way to address infinite scrolling by creating a natural stopping point.

“The idea has been put forward when we engaged with many different groups, that a time limit for the use of a particular platform … could be one way of dealing with infinite scroll,” she said.

Singapore currently has a code of practice covering six designated social media services — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, HardwareZone and X.

Teo said there were similarities between Singapore’s planned safeguards and measures Meta had agreed to under a settlement in the United States, although some details differed.

For instance, Meta agreed to allow parents of teenage users to disable autoplay, while continuous autoplay would remain the default, whereas Singapore wants autoplay turned off by default and parents able to activate it.

Meta’s settlement also included a two-hour daily limit across Facebook and Instagram, which would later tighten to one hour per platform.

Teo said there was no “magic number” for daily usage, but noted that the arrangement could serve as a useful reference, adding that the limit was intended as a reminder for users to spend time on other aspects of life.

An expert panel convened by Singapore’s Health Ministry found that one in three social media users aged 15 to 17 already spend more than three hours a day on social media, while one in six users aged 10 to 24 show signs of problematic social media use.

“What it does suggest is that three hours is a bit too long. It ought to be less than that,” Teo said.

Singapore also plans to strengthen age assurance requirements for social media platforms, building on measures already imposed on app stores.

These include age estimation, age inference and age verification, with the government expected to take a similar approach by allowing platforms to propose methods that meet its expectations for accuracy and robustness.

Teo said a single age check might not always be sufficient, as platforms could later receive indications that a user was younger than initially assessed and need to confirm their age again.

She acknowledged concerns over the handling of data collected for age assurance, saying the government would require platforms to collect such information proportionately while ensuring the safeguards were sufficiently robust.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced during his National Day Rally speech in August that platforms would be required to introduce stronger safeguards for young users, arguing that existing minimum-age requirements, which are generally set at 13, were not adequately enforced through self-declaration.

Teo said engagements with teenagers showed that they generally understood the need for stronger safeguards and supported tiered access, although they did not want to be completely excluded from social media.