Topline
Meta has said it will soon start proactively alerting parents if their teen searches for suicide or self-harm content on Instagram, but experts say the latest move by the company to improve safety for children on social media could do more harm than good for families.
A 13-year-old teenage boy looks at an iPhone screen.
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Key Facts
Instagram on Thursday said its latest safeguard will send a message to parents if their child repeatedly searches for certain terms related to self-harm or suicide within a short time span.
The company didn’t say exactly what searches or in what time frame the alerts would be triggered, but said it “chose a threshold” that errs on the side of caution.
The alerts will roll out in the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia and Canada next week before they’re implemented in other regions later this year.
Chief Critic
In the U.K., which is considering a ban on social media for children under 16, the chief of a suicide prevention foundation has called the new plan “clumsy” and “fraught with risk,” warning that the alerts will likely “leave parents panicked and ill-prepared to have the sensitive and difficult conversations that will follow.” Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said Meta should first work on addressing its internal algorithm that still “actively” recommends harmful content to young people before “making yet another cynically timed announcement that passes the buck to parents.” Meta has disputed the foundation’s claims that Instagram’s current safety standards are failing to meaningfully limit what teenagers see on the app.
Key Background
Instagram has always been available to users 13 years old or older but in 2024 started requiring young users to have “teen account” settings to address parental concerns that included exposure to inappropriate content, online grooming and too much screen time. Meta initially implemented safety features that were theoretically helpful but, in practice, criticised by experts for failing to actually protect children. Two Meta employees last year testified in Congress that children were exposed to bullying, sexual imagery and mature content despite the protections, and that children have been solicited for nude photographs and sexual acts by pedophiles. Last summer, Reuters reported the company’s AI bots were allowed to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” A study by child safety groups and cyber researchers in September found that 30 out of 47 safety tools for teens on Instagram were “substantially ineffective or no longer exist”. Meta has disputed many of the claims against its safety features and said it’s actively working to continue making Instagram a safer place for teens.