Meta announced on Tuesday that teens under 18 will now only be shown PG-13 content on Instagram, and they won't be able to change it without parental permission. This means teen users will see photos and videos that might be seen in a PG-13 movie, meaning they won't feature sex, drugs, or dangerous stunts.
Meta explained in a blog post that this change will hide or prevent posts containing strong language, risky stunts, and posts that could promote harmful habits. For example, posts related to marijuana or dangerous behavior will no longer be visible to teen users.
Anyone under 18 who creates an Instagram account will automatically be placed in a Restricted Teen account. This account will be private by default and already filters sensitive content, such as promotion of cosmetic surgery.
However, many children join social media by lying about their age. Meta has begun using AI to detect such accounts, but the company hasn't disclosed how many have been found so far.
Special Settings for Parents
Meta is also rolling out a more stringent setting for parents, enabling children to view even more limited content. This move comes amid growing criticism that social media can be harmful to teens. Meta has already pledged not to show disturbing content, such as self-harm, eating disorders, or suicide, to teen users.
Under the new policy, teens will no longer be able to follow accounts that regularly share age-inappropriate content. If someone already follows such accounts, they will no longer be able to see their posts, send messages, or see their comments. Such accounts will also be unable to follow teen users.
In addition to search terms like suicide and eating disorders, search terms like alcohol or bloodshed will now also be filtered, even if misspelled. The PG-13 update will also apply to AI chat and experiences, ensuring teen users don't receive information that's inappropriate for their age.
Parents will also have access to a 'Limited Content' setting, which provides even stricter control. This will prevent teens from viewing, commenting on, or receiving certain posts.
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