On Tuesday, Meta announced it will be establishing a new teen-safety measure for users of Instagram that will filter feeds and prevent certain types of explicit content from being seen by users under the age of 18 barring permission from a parent. The overall aim is to make teenage content no more explicit than that of a PG-13 movie, and let parents confirm whether their children should see regular unfiltered Instagram content or not.
“The new Limited Content setting is designed to give parents more control over what their teen sees on Instagram. 96% of US parents said they appreciated having this option, whether they choose to opt their teen in or not,” Meta said in a press release.
Regarding the PG-13 factor, “Teen Accounts will be guided by PG-13 movie ratings by default. This means that teens will see content on Instagram that’s similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie,” the technology company said. “Teens under 18 will be automatically placed into an updated 13+ setting, and they won’t be able to opt out without a parent’s permission. And because we know that all families are different, we’re also introducing a new, stricter setting for parents who prefer a more restrictive experience for their teen. We invited thousands of parents worldwide to share their feedback with us, helping us shape these changes and ensure our efforts align with their expectations.”
Additionally, teens will be unable to see or open direct messages that contain explicitly over-18 content. Meta also revealed that teens will be unable to follow accounts that consistently post “age-inappropriate content.”
“If teens already follow these accounts,” Meta stated, “they’ll no longer be able to see or interact with their content, send them DMs, or see their comments under anyone’s posts. We won’t recommend these accounts to teens, and we’ll make it harder for teens to find these accounts in Search. These protections work both ways: these accounts won’t be able to follow teens, send them DMs, or comment on their posts.”
The subjects of search, content experience, and artificial intelligence are also emphasized in the initiative.
Concerning search topics, Instagram will block “teens’ ability to see content results for a wider range of mature search terms, such as ‘alcohol’ or ‘gore’— and we’re working to make sure these terms will still be blocked if they’re misspelled.” The same applies to AI content of such a nature.
