Instagram Strengthens Teen Defenses As U.S. Audiences Emerge
Instagram announced new protections for young users on Tuesday, a day before the CEO of the photo-sharing app was confronted by US lawmakers with a grid about whether the platform is “toxic” to children.
The app will be stricter on what it recommends for teenage users and will suggest a break after they’ve spent a lot of time on the platform, CEO Adam Mosseri said in a post.
Meta-owned Instagram is at the center of the reputational crisis the social media colossus has been grappling with since a whistleblower leaked documents showing executives were aware of the risks that their websites could make people feel guilty.
Mosseri, who appeared before a Senate panel on Wednesday, defended the platform in his post, saying, “Every day I see the positive effects Instagram is having on young people around the world.”
“I want it to stay that way, which means, above all, that you stay safe on Instagram.”
The app should also start “nudging” teens on new topics if they dwell on one for a while, and it will prevent people from mentioning disobedient teenagers on the platform’s form, Mosseri said.
Legislators have expressed skepticism about the platform’s ability to protect children and the announcement of the new safety features.
“Meta is trying to divert attention from its mistakes by implementing parenting guides, timers, and content control features that consumers should have always had,” said Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who will question Mosseri during Wednesday’s hearing.
“Designed to entertain”
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who will also be attending the hearing, said news reports based on the leaked documents on Facebook showed the “toxic effects” of Instagram.
“I think this is a small step, far from what is needed to protect children and consumers,” he told AFP of Tuesday’s announcement.
“It seems designed more to detract from what the Instagram CEO said tomorrow than actually promoting child safety,” added Blumenthal.
Instagram said its break suggestion feature has been rolled out in Australia, the UK, Canada, and the United States and will expand to other countries early next year.
The platform also introduced an education center for parents to help them become more engaged in their teens’ experiences and tools to enable them to limit their children’s time in the classroom. Enforcement said Mosseri.
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Under pressure, the company had previously announced that it would stop developing a version of Instagram for users under the age of 13, but not give up.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s leaks gave Washington a fresh impetus to regulate social media and avoid tight restrictions as technology overtook legislative efforts and partisan blockades blocked proposals.
A coalition of academics from around the world has asked Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to work with outside researchers to study the company’s impact on its billions of users.
“We urge you to seek independent and transparent reviews of all past, present, and future research on child and adolescent mental health,” said the letter posted on the Oxford Internet University Institute website.
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