Meta to Implement Default Safety Settings for Teen Accounts Under New Settlement

1. Default safety restrictions

The biggest alteration is that Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is now required to make many of its safety limitations the default setting for accounts created by teens, a pivot from its previous opt-in approach to child safety. These settings cannot be changed without the permission of a supervising parent account that is linked to the teen account.

Although Meta has long touted tools like screen-time warnings as proof the company is committed to safety, the company has previously refrained from making such features the preset standard.

When teens first create an Instagram account, they will no longer see a personalized feed or likes on their posts unless a supervising parent changes the setting, for instance.

State attorneys have argued that Meta’s teen safety options rarely get used because they are not automatically turned on. A state prosecutor for Colorado questioned Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri earlier this week about one screen-time warning tool, called Take a Break, which the prosecutor stated only 1.8% of teens signed up to use. A Meta product manager had testified that very few people ever used the feature.

“I’ve definitely said publicly that the opt-in rates are low,” Mosseri stated.

The changes, subject to court approval, would build upon some of the restrictions the company already makes available for its teen accounts.

The settlement also prohibits Meta from making false and misleading statements about its safety features.

2. Parental supervision features

The agreement gives adults who are designated as a “supervising parent” the ability to extensively monitor and change the settings of a teen account if both users agree to the controls. The parental supervision features include receiving information on children’s time spent using the app, as well as the usernames of their social connections and names of accounts that are messaging them.

Supervising parents will also receive daily notifications from Meta any time the teen account messages an adult account for the first time, as well as a link to the adult’s account. Parental accounts will also be notified any time the teen account searches for keywords related to suicide, self-harm or eating disorders.