Meta is adding a new feature called “Teen Accounts” to Facebook and Messenger starting this week to help protect teenagers from harmful content online.
Meta has been under a lot of pressure from parents, lawmakers, and safety experts who say the company isn’t doing enough to keep young users, who are allowed to join the social media platforms as early as 13 years old, safe.
The same features were already added to Instagram last year, and now they’re coming to Meta’s other apps, which include WhatsApp, Facebook and Thread.
With the new update, parents will have more control over what their teens can do on the apps. For example, teens under 16 will now need their parents’ permission to go live on Facebook or Messenger. Also, Meta will continue to blur images in direct messages that might show nudity, and teens won’t be able to turn off this setting without approval.
This move comes at a time when lawmakers in the U.S. are pushing for stricter rules to protect children online. One of the proposed laws, called the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), would require companies like Meta to design their platforms in ways that are safer for young people. There’s also another bill called the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, which would limit how companies can collect and use data from kids and teens. These laws are still being debated, but many believe they could become real soon.
Meta, along with other big tech companies like TikTok and YouTube, is already facing hundreds of lawsuits. Some of these legal cases come from parents and even school districts who say social media is addictive and is causing harm to children’s mental health. In 2023, 33 U.S. states, including California and New York, sued Meta, saying the company didn’t warn the public properly about the risks of using its platforms.
Right now, most social media apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, allow kids to join starting at age 13. But many experts believe that’s still too young, and they are calling for more safeguards. Meta says the new Teen Accounts feature is one way it’s trying to make its apps safer and more responsible for young users.
