Meta is giving teens stricter content filters and testing more balanced Instagram feeds
Meta is expanding its content settings for teen accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger globally to ensure age-appropriate experiences for younger users, it said on Tuesday, as social media platforms face growing scrutiny about child health and safety.
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Meta is tightening teen safety settings across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger as pressure grows over the impact of social media on young people.
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The company is making its 13+ content settings the default for teen accounts, filtering out material it considers inappropriate for younger users.
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A stricter Limited Content option will be added to Facebook and Messenger later this year, giving teens an even more restricted experience.
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Instagram is also testing a more balanced feed that reduces repeated exposure to the same themes, including posts about nutrition, weightlifting and anxiety.
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The changes come after major legal and regulatory scrutiny, including a Los Angeles jury finding Meta and Google negligent over platform designs harmful to young people.
The initiative, initially launched in select countries last October, sought to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content. Meta also announced a new feature on Instagram designed to diversify content seen by teens and prevent repetitive exposure to certain themes.
In April, Meta warned investors that legal and regulatory blowback in the European Union and the US over youth social media issues "could significantly impact our business and financial results."
In a landmark trial, a Los Angeles jury on March 25 found Meta and Alphabet's Google negligent for designing social media platforms that are harmful to young people, awarding a combined $6 million to a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child.
Her lawyers successfully argued that features such as “infinite scroll” and algorithmic recommendations were deliberately engineered to maximize engagement and keep users hooked.
In today's reporting from Reuters, Meta said 13+ content settings, which filter out content deemed inappropriate for teens, is the default for teen accounts.
A "Limited Content" setting, offering an even more restrictive experience, will also be made available on Facebook and Messenger later this year, Meta said.
Meanwhile, Instagram is testing a new feature to limit teens from seeing excessive amounts of certain content types and to promote a more balanced feed.
"We recognize that some content – like posts about nutrition, weightlifting, or how to cope with anxiety – can be helpful, but it should be balanced with other types of content rather than shown repeatedly," Meta said.
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