Snapchat 'Willing to Implement' Daily Time Limits for Teens, Boss Tells BBC
By Lily Jamali, North America Technology Correspondent
The boss of Snapchat has stated that the company is willing to implement daily time limits for teenagers, following a call from Meta for action. In an interview at Snapchat's California headquarters, Evan Spiegel expressed his belief that setting a maximum amount of time young users could spend on the app could be "an important step forward for the industry."
His comments came as the company revealed new features for its upcoming Specs glasses, which can connect to Apple iPhone and Mac devices. Meta has been pressuring other social media platforms to adopt changes as part of a recent multi-billion dollar legal settlement with US states. Instagram and Facebook-parent Meta faced allegations that they intentionally designed their apps to be addictive to young users.
As part of the August settlement, Meta agreed to implement daily time limits for teen users across its platforms by default, along with muted notifications during school hours and blocks at night. They also face paying an additional $5.3bn if YouTube and TikTok follow suit, although they have denied any wrongdoing.
Spiegel told the BBC that Snapchat is considering a default time limit, stating, "I think that's a really good example of something that that we'd be willing to implement." However, he did not provide a timeline for such action.
Snapchat already offers parental control tools through its Family Center feature, allowing parents to track their teens' Snapchat usage. Spiegel concluded by emphasizing their commitment to being part of the solution.
Key Announcements:
- Snap Inc. unveiled new features for Specs glasses, leveraging AI to suggest activities based on users' goals, relationships, and routines.
- The company's parent, Snap, is exploring daily time limits for teens following Meta's lead in platform changes.