Social media Instagram gives parents of teenagers more power

Parents of teenagers on Instagram are being given more control over their children's use of the app. Among other things, this will restrict who can contact them and what they see on Instagram.

Users under the age of 16 will only be able to relax this protection with their parents' consent. In addition, the parent company Meta wants to use artificial intelligence, among other things, to better recognize when teenagers give the wrong age.

"We think this is the right balance between the rights of teenagers and parents and the role of social media companies like ours," said Meta's Head of Policy Nick Clegg. The new restrictions could lead to teenagers using Instagram less, he admitted. However, it is hoped that parents will have more confidence in the precautions taken to keep their children safe.

Instagram bedtime and more supervision

The protective mechanisms, which cannot be changed without parents until the age of 16, include a night mode, a time limit, private accounts and the restriction of so-called "sensitive content" such as cosmetic procedures or violence. There is also the filtering of offensive words from comments.

Parents will also be able to check who their teenage children have been chatting with over the past seven days. They will not be able to see the content of the messages.

Parents can also set a hard time limit for daily use, after which the app will no longer be available - or block access for certain periods of time.

Introduction in the EU by the end of the year

The new teen accounts will initially be introduced in the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia. They will be launched in the EU by the end of the year - and then around the world next year.

Teen accounts will then also be available on other meta platforms. In addition to Instagram, the group also includes Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads.

Artificial intelligence searches for false age information

The AI systems that search for false age claims will evaluate profile information and interactions with posts and other accounts, among other things. From this, it is possible to estimate whether teenagers may be impersonating adults.

Users detected in this way are also transferred to teen accounts - with the option to remove the restrictions in case the software is wrong.

Clegg said that Meta also wanted to promote a debate about easy-to-use control mechanisms for parents across apps from different providers with this initiative. The company - like other online services - is repeatedly accused of not doing enough to protect young users on the platforms.

SDA