The accused group, Meta, announced on Thursday new measures to protect young users of its social networks, particularly the popular application Instagram, which is alleged to harm teenagers’ mental health in the United States and Europe.
The group, based in California, explained in a statement that “teenagers now need the approval of their parents through parental supervision tools available on Instagram in order to change certain settings of the application.”
Users under the legal age will need explicit permission from their parents to switch their accounts from private to public, access “more sensitive” content, and receive messages from people who don’t already follow them on the platform.
The “Meta” group, which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and others, explained that they aim to enhance the protection of teenagers from unwanted communication and enable parents to have a greater influence on their children’s online experience.
The basic settings of “Instagram” will prevent any user who is not originally connected to the minor teenager from communicating with them.
At the end of October, 41 American states filed a civil lawsuit against “Meta” accusing “Facebook” and “Instagram” of harming the mental and physical health of young people, citing the risks of addiction, cyberbullying, and eating disorders.
The prosecutors in the complaint filed before a California court affirmed that Meta utilized powerful and unprecedented techniques to attract young people and teenagers (…) and ultimately manipulate them for the purpose of making profits.
Both Democratic and Republican states accused the giant group of “hiding the way in which these platforms exploit the most vulnerable users and manipulate them”, and “neglecting the significant harm” it causes to “the mental and physical health of our youth”.
