Instagram Introduces Enhanced Privacy for Teens Amid Rising Scrutiny

Meta Platforms has announced the rollout of special accounts with new privacy settings for teenage Instagram users, a move aimed at addressing mounting concerns over social media's impact on young users.

As of Tuesday, September 17, these teen accounts will be private by default, allowing messaging and tagging only with followed or connected accounts. Users under 16 years old will need parental permission to alter these settings, and parents will have access to a suite of tools to monitor interactions and limit app usage.

This initiative comes in response to increasing regulatory pressure and numerous lawsuits filed against Meta, ByteDance's TikTok and Google's YouTube, which shows the addictive nature of social media and its detrimental effects on mental health. Studies have linked social media use to higher levels of depression, anxiety and learning disabilities, particularly among young users.

Meta's decision follows the U.S. Senate's advancement of two online safety bills—The Kids Online Safety Act and The Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act—which aim to hold social media companies accountable for their platforms' impact on children and teens. Meta plans to implement these changes within 60 days in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, with a broader rollout in the European Union later this year and globally starting in January.

"Meta Platforms is rolling out special accounts with new privacy settings for teenaged Instagram users," the company stated, emphasizing that this is part of their "latest effort to limit their exposure to harmful content on its apps amid regulatory pressure."