Meta introduces new safety measures for child-centric accounts on Instagram
What's the story
Meta has announced new safety measures for Instagram accounts that are primarily focused on children. The move comes as part of an effort to protect these accounts from unwanted messages and offensive comments. The company will automatically place such accounts into the app's strictest message settings, preventing unsolicited interactions. It will also enable its "Hidden Words" feature to filter out inappropriate comments.
Targeted accounts
Measures target accounts with children as focus
The new measures will specifically target accounts managed by adults who frequently post pictures and videos of their children. This includes parent or talent manager accounts representing children. Meta acknowledged that while these accounts are mostly used innocently, there are some who exploit them by leaving sexualized comments on their posts or requesting sexual images through direct messages (DMs).
Preventive actions
Meta will also limit recommendations for suspicious adults
Meta plans to keep potentially suspicious adults, like those already blocked by teens, from discovering accounts focused on children. The company will not recommend these suspicious adults to child-centric accounts on Instagram and vice versa. It will also make it more difficult for them to find each other in the Instagram Search feature.
Social media impact
Changes will impact family vloggers, parent-managed accounts
The announcement comes as Meta and Instagram have been taking steps over the last year to address mental health concerns related to social media. These concerns were raised by the US Surgeon General and several states, some of which even mandated parental consent for social media access. The changes will greatly affect family vloggers/creators and parents managing accounts for "kidfluencers," both of whom have been criticized for exposing children on social media.
User awareness
Accounts in stricter settings will see a notification
Meta says accounts placed into these stricter settings will see a notification at the top of their Instagram Feed. The notice will inform them about the updated safety settings and prompt them to review their account privacy settings. Meta has also removed nearly 135,000 Instagram accounts that were sexualizing accounts primarily featuring children.