Thailand to mandate default child safety settings on new smartphones

Thailand is moving to mandate that child safety settings be activated by default on all newly released smartphones. Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob announced that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is working with major technology firms to ensure these protections are active from the factory, reducing the burden on parents to manually configure settings.

The initiative follows an inter-agency review of a school shooting in Nonthaburi on August 7, where investigators found the perpetrator had consumed violent social media content and used gaming platforms to engage with simulated firearms.

While an agreement has already been reached with Apple to adjust its child protection policies, discussions are ongoing with other platforms, including Meta. Officials acknowledged that default settings are not a total solution, as children may still bypass controls using parental accounts, but emphasized that these safeguards provide a critical first layer of defense.