Instagram to roll out teen accounts with privacy, parental controls

Meta Platforms is rolling out special accounts with new privacy settings for teenaged Instagram users, it said on Tuesday, its latest effort to limit their exposure to harmful content on its apps amid regulatory pressure.

The social media firm said it will port all designated accounts automatically to teen accounts, which will be private accounts by default.

Instagram will introduce “teen accounts” for people under 18, limiting what they can view and who can contact them.Credit: AP

Meta said it will place the identified users into teen accounts within 60 days in the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia.

Users of such accounts can only be messaged and tagged by accounts they follow or are already connected to, while sensitive content settings will be dialled to the most restrictive available.

Users under 16 years of age can change the default settings only with a parent’s permission. Parents will also get a suite of settings to monitor who their children are engaging with and limit their use of the app.

Several studies have linked social media use to higher levels of depression, anxiety and learning disabilities, particularly in young users.

Last week, the Albanese government announced sweeping national plans to shield young Australians from online harm by mandating strict age barriers in federal law and punishing tech giants that break the rules.

Australia will move before the next election to a national regime to force tech platforms to enforce age verification. A final age is not yet settled but could be within the 13- to 16-year-old range.

Meta, ByteDance’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube already face hundreds of lawsuits filed on behalf of children and school districts about the addictive nature of social media. Last year, 33 U.S. states including California and New York sued the company for misleading the public about the dangers of its platforms.

Top platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, allow users who are 13 years of age and above to sign up.

Meta’s move comes three years after it abandoned development on a version of the Instagram app meant for teenagers, after lawmakers and advocacy groups urged the company to drop it, citing safety concerns.

In July, the U.S. Senate advanced two online safety bills - The Kids Online Safety Act and The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act - that would force social media companies to take responsibility for how their platforms affect children and teens.

Teens outside the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and the European Union will start to get teen accounts in January.

Reuters

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