Meta announced Tuesday new restrictions on Instagram accounts for teenagers based on the PG-13 movie ratings system.
Meta’s Instagram Teen Accounts will have PG-13 content guidance as their default setting and teens will not be able to opt out without permission from a parent, the company said. The update comes as Meta’s artificial intelligence chatbot faces scrutiny for making sexually suggestive remarks in conversations with teenage users.
With that in mind, Meta is ensuring the teenage experience with artificial intelligence is also informed by PG-13 guidance. Under the new system, Meta’s AI chatbot will not give inappropriate responses to teenage queries.
The new Instagram protections will expand the scope of content teens are not allowed to see by preventing them from following accounts that disseminate inappropriate material and blocking a wider range of search terms. Instagram’s bolstered teen accounts will prevent them from opening restrictive content even if a friend sends it to them over direct message.
The update overhauls Instagram’s teen-specific accounts a year after they were created. Meta launched the teen accounts following extensive scrutiny of social media platforms and the deleterious effects they have had on teenage mental health. For parents who want even more safeguards, Meta is introducing a Limited Content setting to further restrict the content and user experiences available for teenagers on Instagram.
Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), one of Meta’s most vocal skeptics, is investigating its AI chatbot because of “sensual” conversations it had with kids. Meta previously announced changes to its AI chatbot guidelines to ensure the chatbot would no longer send inappropriate messages to children. Meta’s latest announcement appears to have done little to improve Hawley’s confidence in the company.
“Zuckerberg should come to Capitol Hill and tell senators about his plans to ‘overhaul’ Meta’s apps While he’s at it, let’s slap age-verifications on chatbots too – so they stop killing our kids,” Hawley said.
In September, Hawley commissioned a hearing with parents of AI chatbot victims to explain how they harmed the mental health of their children, driving some of them to suicide. The harrowing hearing followed another Senate hearing with Meta whistleblowers who came forward to accuse the company of ignoring the harmful impacts its products had on children. Meta dismissed the whistleblower allegations and accused them of cherry-picking internal documents to make their case.
An Ipsos poll commissioned by Meta found that 95 percent of teen parents think the enhanced restrictions will be helpful and 90 percent believe it will make it easier for them to understand the types of content their child is seeing on Instagram. The same survey indicated that 96 percent of parents appreciated the Limited Content option of even greater parental control.
The Limited Content feature adds even more limitations to AI conversations and teens’s ability to comment on Instagram posts. Meta plans on running regular Instagram surveys to receive parent feedback after soliciting it in the process of making the new Instagram restrictions.
Meta will start rolling out its new protective settings in the U.S. Tuesday and continue doing so throughout the rest of the year.