From now on, Instagram accounts of teenagers will be switched to private, and personal messages will be restricted to only those connected to them. This comes in response to ongoing criticism that social networking services (SNS) are causing harm to adolescents.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, announced on the 17th (local time) enhanced safety measures for teenage users. Teen accounts will be set to private by default. Personal messages can only be received from people the teen user follows or is already connected with.
Starting today, teenagers under 18 signing up for Instagram in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia will be switched to a "restricted" teen account. Teenagers with existing accounts will be moved to "teen accounts" within the next 60 days, and teens in the European Union (EU) will have their accounts adjusted by the end of this year. From January next year, this will be applied in other countries as well. Accordingly, it is expected to be implemented in Korea starting next year.
Additionally, Meta has taken measures to prevent teenagers from viewing sensitive content by adjusting Instagram’s algorithm so that it cannot recommend sexual content or content related to suicide and self-harm.
If a user accesses Instagram for more than 60 minutes, they will receive a notification, and a "sleep mode" will be activated from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., which turns off notifications and sends automatic replies. Teenagers aged 16 and 17 can turn off this setting, but users under 16 must have parental permission to disable it.
Parents can also limit Instagram usage time. Meta explained that it can track attempts by teenagers to lie about their age or use other devices to create adult accounts.
Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, emphasized, "We expect a significant decrease in teenage users as a result of this measure."
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