Meta's new 'teen accounts' aim to protect under-18 users on Instagram

On September 17, Meta announced that profiles of people under 18 years old will be automatically converted into "teen accounts" within 60 days. The change first applies to the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. By the end of the year, the changes are expected to be introduced in the European Union as well. New profiles created after September 17 by people under 18 years old will automatically become "teen accounts."

Tech giants like Meta, ByteDance (owner of TikTok), and Google, which owns YouTube, face hundreds of lawsuits filed on behalf of children and school districts over the addictive nature of social media and insufficient protection for the youngest users. According to Reuters, last year 33 states in the United States, including California and New York, sued Meta, owned by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, for misleading the public about the dangers associated with its platforms.

Meta's response to these accusations is "teen accounts." All profiles owned by individuals under 18 years old will automatically be private accounts. Private messages will only come from people who are followed, and the same will apply to tagging in photos and comments. The content displayed in the Explore tab and Reels will be moderated. From 10 PM to 7 AM, notifications will not work, and every 60 minutes, teen accounts will display information about limiting account usage time.

To change the above settings, individuals under 16 years old will need parental consent. As Meta stated: "To get permission, teenagers will need to set up parental supervision on Instagram. Parents who want more oversight of their older teenagers' experiences (16+) must simply enable parental supervision. They can then approve any changes to these settings, regardless of the teenager's age."

Will these changes better protect teenagers online? It’s rather a PR move by Meta. According to datareportal.com, in 2024, only a few percent of Instagram users will be under 18. Teenagers and even younger children mainly use TikTok today. Both apps are theoretically intended for individuals over 13, but verification is done through the birth date entered by the user.

The best protection for young people online is parental interest in the content they are watching. A compromise between "social exclusion" of teenagers over 13 years old by completely banning the use of social media and lack of supervision could be allowing their use with the condition that parents have access passwords to accounts and profiles. Not to monitor every move of young people but so that both they and their friends are aware that guardians have access to the content they exchange.