South Korea moves to regulate minors' social media use

The South Korean government has begun formal discussions on regulating minors' social media use amid a string of social problems linked to unchecked online activity among young people.

Among the measures under review are a ban on social media sign-ups for those under 14 and restrictions on features — such as personalized content recommendations — that can foster excessive engagement.

President Lee Jae-myung called Tuesday for swift action on the issue, while the Korea Communications Commission said it would conduct a public deliberation process and finalize a response plan by the first half of next year.

The government said it aims to protect minors while safeguarding their right to access information and their personal data, and to ensure that any regulations are effective against workarounds such as circumvention sign-ups and overseas platforms.

The measures currently under consideration go beyond setting a minimum age for social media registration — they would also govern how platforms design and operate their services.

In a presidential briefing in July, the Korea Communications Commission said it was reviewing amendments to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection that would ban social media sign-ups for those under 14 and require platforms to verify users' ages.

Also under consideration is a default ban on features that can drive excessive use — including personalized recommendation algorithms based on users' interests and browsing history, and infinite scroll — for accounts held by users under 19.

Discussions have also included allowing children under 14 to register with parental consent and giving parents the option to enable certain features for their children. The approach is designed to balance youth protection with parental choice over their children's social media use.

Korea Communications Commission Chairman Kim Jong-cheol said in July that "a minimum level of regulation is necessary, as education alone cannot solve the problem."

Nine bills related to restricting minors' social media use are currently pending in the National Assembly. The Korea Communications Commission said it plans to support legislative discussions on those bills alongside a public consultation process to gather input from various sectors.

At a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Kim cited the government's past experience with the ill-fated game shutdown policy — a curfew on late-night gaming for minors that was later scrapped — as a cautionary tale, saying the government must "carefully craft a tailored, step-by-step response built on a foundation of broad social consensus."

President Lee noted that polling shows nearly 80 percent of respondents agree on the need to restrict minors' social media use.