Experts call for 'safety by design' approach to regulate youth use of social media, AI

Experts are calling for a preventive approach — rather than simple usage restrictions — to address the growing problem of social media and AI chatbot addiction among young people.

The Korea Consumer Federation hosted a forum on youth digital safety at the National Assembly members' office building on Monday, co-organized with the offices of lawmakers Park Jeong-ha and Han Ji-a and the Korea Society for Information and Communications Law. The event brought together experts to discuss platform accountability and regulatory reform in response to concerns about young people's excessive engagement with social media and AI chatbots, emotional dependence on such services, and exposure to harmful content.

Sang Yun-mo, a professor at Yonsei University's Department of Communication and Arts, said the focus should shift from restricting social media use to embedding risk prevention into the service design process itself — an approach known as "safety by design." He said regulators must "reflect both the fundamental rights of young people and the positive functions of social media, and establish effective regulatory measures."

In a second presentation, Kim Na-jeong, a researcher at the National Assembly Research Service, said existing laws fall short because they focus on post-hoc regulation of individual content. She called for tiered regulation based on the risk level of specific features, and said platforms should be legally required to conduct advance risk assessments, design services appropriate for different age groups, and build in mechanisms to respond to crisis situations.

Yoon Young-ho, a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Family Medicine, also said platforms should be legally obligated to build safety into their designs. He proposed establishing a national survey on the digital mental health of young people, building a dedicated support system, and reviewing the introduction of a digital health levy.

Choi Jin-eung, a researcher at the National Assembly Research Service, said simple usage restrictions risk infringing on fundamental rights such as the right to information and freedom of expression. "The regulatory framework needs to be designed in a way that guarantees safe use for young people," he said.

Cho Young-ki, secretary general of the Korea Internet Corporations Association, raised concerns about excessive regulation. He warned that social media and AI regulation could repeat the mistakes of past policies such as the game shutdown rule, which focused on blocking access. "Regulation should target risky features rather than entire services, and a performance-based regulatory framework should be developed through consultation with industry," he said.

Ham Hyeong-cheol, a director at the Korea Communications Commission, said nuanced policy is needed that applies stronger safeguards to high-risk features. "We will consult with relevant ministries to develop effective measures and carefully review ways to ensure that businesses can actually comply with the rules," he said.

The Korea Consumer Federation said it will continue to push for youth digital safety. It plans to advocate for the core principles of safety by design — including advance risk assessment, age-appropriate design, safe default settings, and prevention of excessive engagement and emotional dependence — to be reflected in actual regulations and platform service design. The federation also said it intends to establish the right to a safe digital environment as a fundamental consumer right in the digital age.