diff --git a/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/api/trace/SpanContext.java b/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/api/trace/SpanContext.java
index 030cc300a84..a1fa9920eb9 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/api/trace/SpanContext.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/api/trace/SpanContext.java
@@ -71,9 +71,9 @@ public static SpanContext createFromRemoteParent(
     return create(traceIdHex, spanIdHex, traceFlags, traceState, /* remote=*/ true);
   }
 
-  abstract String getTraceIdHex();
+  protected abstract String getTraceIdHex();
 
-  abstract String getSpanIdHex();
+  protected abstract String getSpanIdHex();
 
   /**
    * Returns the trace identifier associated with this {@code SpanContext}.