SOCIAL media giant Instagram has announced new guardrails in an effort to halt abuse against young users on the platform.
The move by Meta, the parent company of Instagram, comes as the company faces US state lawsuits and mounting backlash from families and parents of teens and children using the platform.
As part of a slew of new features being implemented on Instagram, the platform will prevent people from screenshotting or screen recording images or videos sent via private message.
As an extra layer of protection, if the sender enables replays of the image or video, Instagram will block people from opening the content on the web.
However, the new feature will not stop perps from capturing the image or video by recording it with another device.
The new screenshot and screen recording features will also be enforced on Facebook’s Messenger.
TEEN PROTECTION EFFORT
Meta said it’s rolling out several new features to protect teens and children against sextortion, a type of blackmail that uses sexual images or conversations to pressure victims into paying money.
Beginning Thursday, Instagram will relay specific indicators, like how new an account is and any suspicious activity, to users on the app.
The platform will also prevent scam accounts from sending follow-up requests to teens by blocking their requests or moving them to the teen’s spam folder.
The company said a new nudity-protection feature will be enabled for all Instagram users under 18.
If a nude image is sent to a young user, Instagram will blur the photo and send a warning message about the content before the person can open the picture or video.
The latest efforts come after Meta debuted its new Teen Accounts in September to protect young users further and allow more account visibility to parents.
Teen Accounts will be private by default, and private messages will be restricted, so teens can only receive them from people they follow or are already connected to.
Meta will also clamp down on teenagers who lie about their age when creating a profile and are asked to verify their date of birth.
The social media giant said it is building new technology that proactively finds teen accounts pretending to be adults and automatically places them under the restricted teen version.
Instagram platform changes
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has announced new changes to its video and photo sharing platform to shield young users.
Five changes Instagram is making to protect teenagers:
- Inability to screengrab or screen record images or videos sent as a private message. If a sender enables replays of an image or video sent via private messaging, Instagram will block the recipient from opening the content on the web.
- Instagram will relay specific indicators, like how new an account is and any suspicious activity, to users on the app.
- Instagram will prevent scam accounts from sending follow-up requests to teenage users by blocking their requests or moving them to the young users’ spam folders.
- A new nudity-protection feature will be enabled for all users under 18. If a nude image is sent to a young user, Instagram will blur the photo and send a warning message about the content before the person can open the picture or video.
- Instagram launched Teen Accounts in September for users under 18. Teen accounts will be private by default, and private messages will be restricted, so teens can only receive them from people they follow or are already connected to. Teen Accounts also offers parents more visibility of their child’s account.
MOUNTING LAWSUITS
Meta’s enhanced teen protection efforts come as a federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday that the social media company must face several lawsuits filed in various US states.
The suit, which involved more than 30 states, accuses Meta of fueling the mental health crisis among children and young teens.
The plaintiffs accuse Meta of making Facebook and Instagram addictive, which leads to anxiety, depression, and body image issues among adolescents.
An Oakland judge rejected Meta’s efforts to try and toss the lawsuit, which was filed in 2023.
“Meta needs to be held accountable for the very real harm it has inflicted on children here in California and across the country,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
The states, which include Florida and New York, accuse Meta of conducting illegal business practices as plaintiffs seek an undisclosed amount in damages.
Meta said it disagreed with the judge’s ruling, citing the new developments made on Facebook and Instagram that seek to protect young users.
“We developed numerous tools to support parents and teens, and we recently announced that we’re significantly changing the Instagram experience for tens of millions of teens with new Teen Accounts, a protected experience for teens that automatically limits who can contact them and the content they see,” a Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg.
“We believe the evidence will demonstrate our commitment to supporting young people.”
