NEW YORK: Instagram has significantly tightened content filtering for teenage accounts to align with PG-13 film rating standards.
This decision reflects mounting pressure on Meta and other social media firms to prioritise user well-being over profit and engagement metrics.
The platform described this content filtering enhancement as the most substantial update since Teen Accounts launched in September last year.
Teen Instagram users will now encounter a maturity level of content comparable to films carrying the voluntary PG-13 rating.
The PG-13 rating, introduced by the Motion Picture Association of America in 1984, serves as a parental advisory for movie content.
It signals that a film contains slightly more intense material involving nudity, violence, or drug use than a standard PG-rated movie.
Meta’s head of public affairs for child protection, Capucine Tuffier, stated this adoption of film industry standards aims to provide the most protective settings for teenagers.
Content examples that could trigger these PG-13 filters include promotions of drastic diets or the glorification of alcohol and tobacco use.
Meta will continue employing age detection technology to identify teenagers attempting to bypass restrictions by falsifying their age.
Instagram already prohibits shocking or sexually explicit content from appearing on teen accounts.
This update will also hide posts encouraging potentially harmful behaviours like risky challenges from teen feeds and recommendations.
The new filtering system is initially rolling out in Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States.
Meta plans to expand these enhanced protections to additional countries in the coming months.
Film ratings within this system are determined by an independent Classification and Rating Administration board composed of parents.
Parents seeking greater control can select a restricted content option for their children’s accounts.
This restricted setting prevents young users from seeing, writing, or receiving comments on certain posts.
Starting next year, the restricted content option will also limit conversations teens can have with artificial intelligence tools.
California recently enacted a landmark law mandating critical safeguards for interactions with AI chatbots.
This legislative action follows tragic incidents involving teen suicides linked to prior chatbot usage. – AFP
