If a social media platform does not want to introduce stronger safeguards, Singapore may require it to raise the minimum age of access to 18
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenCNAPublished: 5:27pm, 31 Aug 2026Updated: 5:28pm, 31 Aug 2026Singapore plans to introduce legislation early next year requiring social media platforms to roll out stronger safeguards for teens, including possibly setting a daily time limit, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo has said.If a platform could not or did not want to introduce these stronger safeguards, Singapore intended to raise the minimum age of access to that platform to 18, Teo told journalists in an interview on Friday.
The government wanted to know what platforms could do to protect teen users from “stranger danger”, or direct messages from people unknown to them, she said.
Algorithmic feeds, autoplay and infinite scroll are also a concern, with discussions touching on how to introduce a natural stop point for infinite scroll.
“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,” said Teo.
Singapore currently has a code of practice that covers six designated social media services: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, HardwareZone and X.
