The US company Meta has announced a new feature designed to enhance content filtering for teenagers on its platform Instagram. The update will ensure that “all posts containing offensive language, certain challenges classified as risky,” or content that could “encourage potentially harmful behavior” will either be hidden or not recommended, the company said on Tuesday.
The feature will first be rolled out in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, with more countries to follow in the coming months.
In the future, teenagers will only see content comparable to the U.S. movie rating of PG-13. This classification alerts parents when films contain material that may be inappropriate for children under 13. Examples of content that could fall under the PG-13 category include extreme dieting or the glorification of alcohol and tobacco use.
“We are adding an extra layer of protection for teenagers by default, particularly regarding sensitive and inappropriate content,” said Capucine Tuffier, Meta’s Head of Public Affairs for Child Protection.
According to Meta, the company will continue to use age detection technology to identify cases in which young users pretend to be older in order to bypass age restrictions. Instagram already restricts access to shocking or explicitly sexual content for teen accounts.
Parents seeking greater control over what their children view on Instagram will also have the option to enable a “restricted content” setting. This feature prevents young users from seeing, posting, or receiving comments under posts.
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