Instagram Makes All Teen Accounts Private (npr.org)
- Reference: 0175018847
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/09/17/2124201/instagram-makes-all-teen-accounts-private
- Source link: https://www.npr.org/2024/09/17/g-s1-23181/instagram-teen-accounts-private-meta-child-safety
> Meta said users under 16 will now need a parent's approval to change the restricted settings, dubbed "Teen Accounts," which filter out offensive words and limit who can contact them. "It's addressing the same three concerns we're hearing from parents around unwanted contact, inappropriate contact and time spent," said Naomi Gleit, Meta's head of product, in an interview with NPR. With teens all being switched to private accounts, they can only be messaged or tagged by people they follow. Content from accounts they don't follow will be in the most restrictive setting, and the app will make periodic screen time reminders under a revamped "take a break" feature. [...]
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> Meta requires users to be at least 13 years old to create an account. Social media researchers, however, have long noted that young people can lie about their age to get on the platform and may have multiple fake accounts, known as "finstas," to avoid detection by their parents. Officials at Meta say they have built new artificial intelligence systems to detect teens who lie about their age. This is in addition to working with British company Yoti, which analyzes someone's face from their photos and estimates an age. Meta has partnered with the company since 2022. Since then, Meta has required teens to prove their age by submitting a video selfie or a form of identification. Now, Meta says, if a young person tries to log into a new account with an adult birthday, it will place them in the teen protected settings.
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> While parental supervision on Instagram still requires both a teen and parent to opt in, the new policies add a feature that allows parents to see who their teens have been recently messaging (though not the content of the messages) and what subjects they are exploring on the app. Meta is hoping to avoid one worrisome situation: Someone who is not a parent finding a way to oversee a teen's account. "If we determine a parent or guardian is not eligible, they are blocked from the supervision experience," Meta wrote in a white paper about Tuesday's new child safety measures. [...] Meta points out that parents will be limited to viewing about three dozen topics that their teens are interested in, including things like outdoor activities, animals and music. Meta says the topic-viewing is less about parents surveilling kids and more about learning about a child's curiosities. Still, some of the new Instagram features for teens will be aimed at filtering out sensitive content from the app's Explore Page and on Reels, the app's short-form video service.
[1] https://about.fb.com/news/2024/09/instagram-teen-accounts/
[2] https://www.npr.org/2024/09/17/g-s1-23181/instagram-teen-accounts-private-meta-child-safety
Seems easy enough to defeat (Score:1)
Not trivial, but easy enough* for a determined 15 year old of normal intelligence. A 12 year old, not so much: They may be able to follow their big brother/sister's instructions and be able to create the account and use it for awhile but it's too hard for most 12-year-olds to "act 17" consistently enough to fool a well-trained AI or human. Any 12 year old pretending to be 17 every day is either going to get good at "being 17" quickly or they will be caught out.
I suspect the "big win" for Instagram is tha
Re: (Score:2)
How complicated is it to just sign up for multiple accounts? If one gets banned, sign up for another. I mean, really, most 10 year olds can figure that out.
Your mileage may vary, of course.
AI to the rescue (Score:2)
AI could do a lot by just flagging and slowing down, demonetizing, filtering Instagram / tictok photos video clips which exist only to feature a clothed butt or clothed chest of a a person seeing to only monetize their appearance.
And then go after the clickbait photo tags.
Is this supposed to do any good? (Score:3)
How many teens are putting their real birthdate on their accounts? They may have a "parent approved" instagram/Facebook account, but I'd guarantee the vast majority also have a second account with an 18+ birthdate, with their parents and any school teachers/officials blocked.
Re: (Score:2)
Finsta and rinsta have been terms for almost a decade.
[1]http://finsta.urbanup.com/ [urbanup.com]
[1] http://finsta.urbanup.com/
Doesn't Facebook ID you? (Score:2)
I don't think they do it right away but if they suspect something they'll slap your account and lock it and you'll have to provide your driver's license. I don't think they're going to completely go out of their way to block teens from making fake accounts but at the same time I don't think they want them there because it screws up their demographics and they're all about selling demographic data.
no minors on Meta (Score:4, Interesting)
All minors I know give year of birth so they seem to be at least 18, and conveniently change that once they actually reach that age.
So far for all their efforts to protect the children.
Should have thought of that before you gave them that phone.
Re: (Score:1)
The opinions of childless people on this particular issue have no value.
First, a simple fact the childless can't seem to comprehend: It is impossible for a parent to monitor their child 100% of the time.
Second: Your kid will have a phone. You can't stop this. It doesn't matter if you refuse to provide one. It doesn't matter if you search their room daily for contraband phones. They will find a way. They have a lot of free time and are highly motivated.
Third: You'll probably give them a phone anyway be
good now we can lay the responsibilty \ blame (Score:2)
where it should rest - with the parents.
Re: (Score:2)
Parents need help. Government is involved with underage sex, drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, this is little different.
Er ... (Score:2)
> Instagram Makes All Teen Accounts Private
17 and 18 are also "teen". Just sayin'
Why does big tech hate parents? (Score:2)
> the new policies add a feature that allows parents to see who their teens have been recently messaging (though not the content of the messages)
The content of messages can be very important. Let me tell you a story:
My wife and I were required to foster for a year before the agency we were using would certify us to adopt. A few days after completing all of their trainings, we were asked to take an emergency placement. This turned out to be an 11-year-old boy with ... a lot of problems. After a few days, we decided it would be okay to give him phone so that he could stay in contact with us while he was outside playing with the neighborhood kids.
How is age verified? (Score:2)
I am hoping this doesn't involve or morph into a digital ID requirement.
What it's supposed to be about: protecting kids (Score:4, Interesting)
What it's actually about: protecting kids from any information originating outside the bubble we've prepared for them.
It's obviously not a coincidence that Facebook / Instagram also just banned Russia Today. [1]https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/... [www.cbc.ca]
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/meta-russia-oulets-1.7325186
Re: (Score:2)
> What it's actually about: protecting kids from any information originating outside the bubble we've prepared for them.
What it's ACTUALLY actually about: Looking good in front of lawmakers, regulators, attorneys general, parents, and the general public.
"protecting kids from any information originating outside the bubble we've prepared for them" is a means to that end, not and end in and of itself. At least not if you are Instagram's Legal and PR departments.
Re: (Score:2)
>> What it's actually about: protecting kids from any information originating outside the bubble we've prepared for them.
> What it's ACTUALLY actually about: Looking good in front of lawmakers, regulators, attorneys general, parents, and the general public.
In a way that will not interfere with revenue, and preferably, actually increase it. But never reduce it.
Re: (Score:2)
"What it's ACTUALLY actually about: Looking good in front of lawmakers, regulators, attorneys general, parents, and the general public."
No one in the public asked Facebook to ban Iranian, Venezuelan and Palestinian accounts, like they have been doing for years now. No one asked them to remove posts and accounts for using the word zionist. It's not that they do it to appease the govt, but rather because they share all the enemies of the US secstate blob.
I mean it's right there in the summary (Score:1)
It's mostly we just makes it harder for randos to contact your teenage daughter or son. I don't see how that's a bad thing.
It doesn't seem to restrict their access to information, at least not information from credible sources. It might stop them from getting their head pumped full of nonsense from any one of the thousand and one right-wing botnets out there but that's a feature not a bug.
As for Russia today they got caught, again, violating US sanctions by funneling money into right-wing influencer
Re: (Score:2)
What is the easiest way for pedos to identify kids? If they set private all accounts below 17
Does setting private an account prevent messaging to that account? Even if you have to add them first, I dont think this will limit it much as kids who are alone, feel alone, want to find worth, etc, can be easily manipulated even with "friends before messaging" is set.
Its something to help, but it is also an easy exploit.