Instagram has announced plans to roll out PG-13 content guidelines in a bid to strengthen online teen safety and give parents more control over teenagers’ social media accounts.
Run and owned by Meta, Instagram will start applying new content rules based on “parental guidance” movie rating to all teen accounts.
Under these new guidelines, certain accounts that show and share drug, alcohol, and sexualized content will be barred. Moreover, teenagers will not be recommended posts filled with swear words, provocative language, and risky acts.
Instagram is also adding a new, stricter option called "Limited Content" for parents.
After applying the PG-13 version, the users under 18 age will automatically be placed into the 13+ category. Only with parents’ permission, they can withdraw from this setting.
While talking about its policies Meta said, “While of course there are differences between movies and social media, we made these changes so teens’ experience in the 13+ setting feels closer to the Instagram equivalent of watching a PG-13 movie.”
The main driver behind the introduction of new rules is the independent research in which an ex-Meta whistleblower argued that 64 percent of Instagram's new safety tools proved ineffective.
These policy changes also come after the tech firm has experienced censure over ineffective child-safety regulations and mental health concerns.
