Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has announced changes to teenagers’ accounts, saying it will improve privacy protections.
As part of the change, Instagram will automatically put underage users into what the company calls “teen accounts.” It said that change would block people who do not follow the teens from viewing their content or contacting them.
In another change, Instagram said it would alsop mute Instagram app notifications for teen users between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. It also plans to send teen users “time limit reminders,” suggesting they close the app after 60 minutes per day.
Instagram has been under pressure for years to address privacy protections for underage users. In 2021, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general announced an investigation into potentially harmful effects that the social media platform Instagram has on teenagers.
It followed a leak of internal documents that allegedly showed that Meta Platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook, was aware of the potential harm.
More power for parents
Under the new procedures, Instagram said parents will be able to see what accounts their child has connected with. Parent will also be able to set daily time limits and block teens from using the app during specific time periods.
Critics were quick to note the Instagram announcement comes just as Congress is taking up the issue of children who use social media. Senate Democrats, with Republican support, passed the Kids Online Safety Act at the end of July, sending it to the House. Final passage would impose new rules for Big Tech’s social media platforms that Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS) said were long overdue.
“We have long awaited the day when our government takes decisive action against the exploitative practices of Big Tech that needlessly expose our young people to dangerous, sometimes deadly situations,” said Maurine Molak, Co-Founder of ParentsSOS .
“I commend Majority Leader Schumer and Senators Blumenthal, Blackburn, Cassidy, and Markey for their unwavering commitment to this cause. Now, we call on the House to act quickly as well to protect our future generations from preventable tragedies.”
Alix Fraser, director of the Council for Responsible Media, told the New York Post Meta’s announcement is similar to promises it has made in the past.