Mehta on Tuesday launched an Instagram Teen account offering a more exclusive experience for the platform’s younger users, the latest effort by tech companies to ease concerns about the impact of social media on children.
Meta will automatically transition all Instagram users under the age of 16 to a new service that has parental control settings protections built in. The move aims to address growing criticism that social media can have a negative impact on young people’s mental health, as well as give parents peace of mind about what content their children are exposed to and who they can interact with.
Teen account user profiles will automatically be made private and will only be viewable if a request to access a teen’s information is approved. The new tools also put limits on messaging, allow parents to see who their children are communicating with and include the ability to silence notifications at night, which can be disabled with parental permission.
“We know parents want to feel reassured that their children can use social media to connect with friends and explore their interests without worrying about unsafe or inappropriate experiences,” Mehta said in a statement on Tuesday. “We understand parents’ concerns, which is why we’re revamping our teen app with a new Teen Account.”
Meta says that in addition to giving parents more control over their kids’ Instagram usage, the new “Explore” feature will let teens choose the topics they want to see more of.
Facing legal pressure for change
Meta’s global safety chief, Antigone Davis, told CBS News that Meta designs its teen accounts in consultation with teens’ parents, and that the changes will affect tens of millions of Instagram users. Meta has been making incremental changes over the years, but the new service “standardizes the experience,” she said.
“Parents can rest easy; their teens have a level of protection,” Davis said, adding that Meta aims to “rethink how parents and teens interact online.”
2023 Dozens of states have sued over methThe lawsuit alleges that the company intentionally designed Instagram and Facebook to make young users addicted in order to increase its profits. The lawsuit also accuses Meta of collecting data from children under the age of 13 without parental consent, in violation of federal law.
Mehta denied the allegations, saying it was committed to providing teens with a “positive experience online” and that it had introduced dozens of tools to make social media safer for teens.
How are Teen Accounts enforced?
Meta said teen accounts require parental permission to lift restrictions for users under 16. The additional features give parents more control over their teen’s online experience, allowing them to see who and how their teen is messaging and how much time they’re spending on the platform. Parents can also block their teen from accessing Instagram during certain times of the day.
To keep teens honest, Meta asks them to upload an ID and verify their age using a tool called Yoti, which analyzes a person’s facial features to determine whether they are under or over 18.
Teens will be notified that their account will be transferred to a teen account, which will occur over 60 days in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
—CBS News’ Jo Lynn Kent contributed to this report.