NYU and Northeastern University find most child safety features ineffective
A new study from NYU and Northeastern University found that most child safety features on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat aren't working well enough.
Out of 86 tools tested, more than half either didn't protect children or were too tricky for them to use.
Only 35 features actually did the job.
Snapchat 73% failed, Instagram 66% failed
Snapchat had the worst results (73% of its features failed) while Instagram wasn't far behind at 66%.
The study also pointed out issues like TikTok suggesting harmful search terms and Snapchat letting adults message minors without much restriction.
While social media companies pushed back on these findings, researchers say there's a real need for simple and effective protections to keep young users safe online.
Plus, Australia's new law banning people under 16 from social media is proving tough to enforce, even with stricter penalties this year.