Teens’ Instagram accounts get more restrictions, but only the concepts of a plan to find them
Three years after leaked documents showed that Meta knew Instagram was harming teen girls’ mental health and a year after more than 30 states sued the company alleging marketing practices that exploited young people, Instagram is making changes to teens’ accounts.
By default, “Teen Accounts” will be private, they will only be able to be messaged by people they’re connected to, and sensitive content like fighting and some cosmetic procedures will be restricted.
Parents will also be able to supervise who their teens are talking to and what topics their viewing, as well as set limits on how much time they spend on the app.
Of course parents can override these new restrictions and teens can lie about their age, but Instagram says it plans to use AI starting next year to figure out when people are lying about their age and “proactively find these teens and place them in the same protections offered by Teen Account settings.”
Parents will also be able to supervise who their teens are talking to and what topics their viewing, as well as set limits on how much time they spend on the app.
Of course parents can override these new restrictions and teens can lie about their age, but Instagram says it plans to use AI starting next year to figure out when people are lying about their age and “proactively find these teens and place them in the same protections offered by Teen Account settings.”
