Meta is tightening its safety measures for teen users on Instagram with new restrictions to protect young people from potential risks while using the platform. This move comes as part of a broader effort to give parents more control over their children’s online activities. The changes, which include blocking live streaming for teens under 16 and imposing content filters, seek to create a safer environment for the younger audience on Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.
What’s Happening & Why This Matters
In response to increasing concerns about social media safety, Meta has introduced new rules targeting teenagers using Instagram. Under-16s can no longer use Instagram’s Live feature until they obtain parental permission. This change is intended to protect younger users from the potential dangers of live-streaming, such as exposure to inappropriate content and interactions with strangers. In addition, teens will also require parental consent to turn off a feature that blurs images containing suspected nudity in their direct messages.
The new restrictions are part of Meta’s ongoing effort to implement its Teen Accounts program. Launched in September 2022, this initiative automatically sets accounts for users under 16 to private, giving parents more oversight of their children’s online activities. The program includes features that allow parents to set daily usage limits, block access at certain hours, and view interactions their child has on the platform. This program has been implemented on Instagram and will now extend to Facebook and Messenger in select countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Meta also reports that over 54 million teen accounts have been set up since the program’s inception. Feedback from parents has been largely positive, with 94% of parents finding the Teen Accounts program beneficial in managing their children’s online experience. However, there have been some technical issues, such as difficulties with age verification, leading Meta to introduce a new approach to place suspected teens under the Teen Accounts system, even if their provided birthdates didn’t match the requirements.
These moves come amid growing concerns over social media’s negative impact on young users. With the introduction of the UK’s Online Safety Act, which mandates that social platforms take measures to prevent harmful content from reaching young users, pressure is mounting for companies like Meta to take more proactive steps. The new restrictions on live-streaming and content access align with the global push for stricter regulations to protect teenagers from cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and other risks associated with online engagement.
TF Summary: What’s Next
The implementation of Instagram’s new restrictions and Meta’s broader efforts to protect teen users reflects a growing trend toward more stringent controls over social media safety. As Meta continues to roll out these measures across Facebook and Messenger, parents will have increased control over their children’s digital experiences. This change may prompt other social media platforms to follow suit and implement their safeguards for younger audiences. In the future, we can expect more regulations and improvements in content moderation to ensure that digital environments remain safe for teenagers and other vulnerable users.
— Text-to-Speech (TTS) provided by gspeech