Meta has announced new measures to safeguard teenagers on its platforms, including the removal of certain sensitive and age-inappropriate content from their feeds. This enhancement builds on existing restrictions, preventing the recommendation of topics like self-harm, eating disorders, and mental health issues on Reels and Explore pages.
Now, such content will also be excluded from the feeds and Stories of young users, even if it originates from accounts they follow. Additionally, Meta is increasing the concealment of search terms and results linked to suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders, guiding users towards supportive resources when they seek out these topics.
The company emphasizes its commitment to ensuring a safe, age-appropriate experience for teens on its apps, as stated in a recent blog post. Consequently, default content control settings for teenagers on Facebook and Instagram will be more stringent, aiming to minimize their exposure to sensitive material.
Furthermore, Meta plans to nudge teens towards enhancing the privacy of their accounts through notifications and prompts. This move is part of Meta’s response to ongoing criticism about the impact of its products on young users.
Notably, Meta faced a lawsuit in 2022 when a family claimed the company recommended content promoting anorexia and self-harm to their daughter on Instagram. The company also came under fire after the 2021 leak of the “Facebook Papers,” which exposed internal research showing Instagram’s negative effects on teenage girls.
Recent developments include testimony from a former Meta engineering director in a congressional hearing, urging for enhanced child safety measures, and a lawsuit from a coalition of state attorneys general over addictive features targeting young users.
In response to these challenges, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reflected on his vision for youth-friendly online experiences in a 2021 Facebook post. He expressed his dedication to creating safe and positive spaces for children.
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In its latest announcement, Meta highlights the development of over 30 tools and resources to support teenagers and their parents, underlining its ongoing collaboration with experts to improve the safety of its platforms.
