Instagram said Tuesday that it would overhaul its approach to teenagers’ accounts and try to crack down on their access to objectionable content after a firestorm of bad publicity over how teens use the social media app. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, announced a series of changes that it said were aimed at making teens’ experience on Instagram similar to viewing PG-13 movies, with equivalent restrictions on sexualized content and other adult material. One new restriction that Instagram said it would adopt is called age-gating: If an Instagram account regularly shares content that is age-inappropriate — for example, content related to alcohol or links to pornographic websites — then, the company said, it will block all teen accounts from being able to see or chat with that account. The age-gating could apply even to celebrities or other widely followed adult accounts, Instagram said. But it did not say precisely where it would draw the line for adult accounts that do not want to be age-gated. A company representative said sharing one piece of age-inappropriate content would not be enough for an adult-run account to lose access to the teen audience. Other apps, such as YouTube, also use age-gating to restrict access to certain types of content. A second new restriction on Instagram will block teens’ search results for a wider range of adult search terms, going beyond its current list of restricted terms, it says. The changes apply only to teen-specific accounts, which are accounts that teens have created using their truthful birth dates or accounts that Instagram has determined through its own investigation are likely to be those of people under 18 years old. It is common for teens to lie about their ages online to avoid certain restrictions. A 2024 survey of U.K. teens by the media regulator Ofcom found that 22% of 17-year-olds said they lied on social media that they were 18 or older. A representative for Instagram said it tries to catch teens who lie about their ages but declined to say how often it finds them doing so. In announcing the latest changes, Instagram said it was borrowing the thinking behind the PG-13 movie rating, which suggests “parental guidance” because of “some material parents might not like for their young children.” The film industry voluntarily released the modern film rating system in the 1960s when it, too, was facing the threat of government regulation. “Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram — but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” Instagram said in a statement. The company said that for teen accounts, it would hide or not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, sexually suggestive poses or marijuana paraphernalia. It also said artificial intelligence experiences for teens would be “guided by PG-13 ratings by default,” with limits on the types of responses given.Instagram said Tuesday that it would overhaul its approach to teenagers’ accounts and try to crack down on their access to objectionable content after a firestorm of bad publicity over how teens use the social media app. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, announced a series of changes that it said were aimed at making teens’ experience on Instagram similar to viewing PG-13 movies, with equivalent restrictions on sexualized content and other adult material. One new restriction that Instagram said it would adopt is called age-gating: If an Instagram account regularly shares content that is age-inappropriate — for example, content related to alcohol or links to pornographic websites — then, the company said, it will block all teen accounts from being able to see or chat with that account. The age-gating could apply even to celebrities or other widely followed adult accounts, Instagram said. But it did not say precisely where it would draw the line for adult accounts that do not want to be age-gated. A company representative said sharing one piece of age-inappropriate content would not be enough for an adult-run account to lose access to the teen audience. Other apps, such as YouTube, also use age-gating to restrict access to certain types of content. A second new restriction on Instagram will block teens’ search results for a wider range of adult search terms, going beyond its current list of restricted terms, it says. The changes apply only to teen-specific accounts, which are accounts that teens have created using their truthful birth dates or accounts that Instagram has determined through its own investigation are likely to be those of people under 18 years old. It is common for teens to lie about their ages online to avoid certain restrictions. A 2024 survey of U.K. teens by the media regulator Ofcom found that 22% of 17-year-olds said they lied on social media that they were 18 or older. A representative for Instagram said it tries to catch teens who lie about their ages but declined to say how often it finds them doing so. In announcing the latest changes, Instagram said it was borrowing the thinking behind the PG-13 movie rating, which suggests “parental guidance” because of “some material parents might not like for their young children.” The film industry voluntarily released the modern film rating system in the 1960s when it, too, was facing the threat of government regulation. “Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram — but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” Instagram said in a statement. The company said that for teen accounts, it would hide or not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, sexually suggestive poses or marijuana paraphernalia. It also said artificial intelligence experiences for teens would be “guided by PG-13 ratings by default,” with limits on the types of responses given. how teens experience the app, making it more ‘PG-13’
Book

Instagram said Tuesday that it would overhaul its approach to teenagers’ accounts and try to crack down on their access to objectionable content after a firestorm of bad publicity over how teens use the social media app. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, announced a series of changes that it said were aimed at making teens’ experience on Instagram similar to viewing PG-13 movies, with equivalent restrictions on sexualized content and other adult material. One new restriction that Instagram said it would adopt is called age-gating: If an Instagram account regularly shares content that is age-inappropriate — for example, content related to alcohol or links to pornographic websites — then, the company said, it will block all teen accounts from being able to see or chat with that account. The age-gating could apply even to celebrities or other widely followed adult accounts, Instagram said. But it did not say precisely where it would draw the line for adult accounts that do not want to be age-gated. A company representative said sharing one piece of age-inappropriate content would not be enough for an adult-run account to lose access to the teen audience. Other apps, such as YouTube, also use age-gating to restrict access to certain types of content. A second new restriction on Instagram will block teens’ search results for a wider range of adult search terms, going beyond its current list of restricted terms, it says. The changes apply only to teen-specific accounts, which are accounts that teens have created using their truthful birth dates or accounts that Instagram has determined through its own investigation are likely to be those of people under 18 years old. It is common for teens to lie about their ages online to avoid certain restrictions. A 2024 survey of U.K. teens by the media regulator Ofcom found that 22% of 17-year-olds said they lied on social media that they were 18 or older. A representative for Instagram said it tries to catch teens who lie about their ages but declined to say how often it finds them doing so. In announcing the latest changes, Instagram said it was borrowing the thinking behind the PG-13 movie rating, which suggests “parental guidance” because of “some material parents might not like for their young children.” The film industry voluntarily released the modern film rating system in the 1960s when it, too, was facing the threat of government regulation. “Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram — but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” Instagram said in a statement. The company said that for teen accounts, it would hide or not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, sexually suggestive poses or marijuana paraphernalia. It also said artificial intelligence experiences for teens would be “guided by PG-13 ratings by default,” with limits on the types of responses given.Instagram said Tuesday that it would overhaul its approach to teenagers’ accounts and try to crack down on their access to objectionable content after a firestorm of bad publicity over how teens use the social media app. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, announced a series of changes that it said were aimed at making teens’ experience on Instagram similar to viewing PG-13 movies, with equivalent restrictions on sexualized content and other adult material. One new restriction that Instagram said it would adopt is called age-gating: If an Instagram account regularly shares content that is age-inappropriate — for example, content related to alcohol or links to pornographic websites — then, the company said, it will block all teen accounts from being able to see or chat with that account. The age-gating could apply even to celebrities or other widely followed adult accounts, Instagram said. But it did not say precisely where it would draw the line for adult accounts that do not want to be age-gated. A company representative said sharing one piece of age-inappropriate content would not be enough for an adult-run account to lose access to the teen audience. Other apps, such as YouTube, also use age-gating to restrict access to certain types of content. A second new restriction on Instagram will block teens’ search results for a wider range of adult search terms, going beyond its current list of restricted terms, it says. The changes apply only to teen-specific accounts, which are accounts that teens have created using their truthful birth dates or accounts that Instagram has determined through its own investigation are likely to be those of people under 18 years old. It is common for teens to lie about their ages online to avoid certain restrictions. A 2024 survey of U.K. teens by the media regulator Ofcom found that 22% of 17-year-olds said they lied on social media that they were 18 or older. A representative for Instagram said it tries to catch teens who lie about their ages but declined to say how often it finds them doing so. In announcing the latest changes, Instagram said it was borrowing the thinking behind the PG-13 movie rating, which suggests “parental guidance” because of “some material parents might not like for their young children.” The film industry voluntarily released the modern film rating system in the 1960s when it, too, was facing the threat of government regulation. “Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram — but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” Instagram said in a statement. The company said that for teen accounts, it would hide or not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, sexually suggestive poses or marijuana paraphernalia. It also said artificial intelligence experiences for teens would be “guided by PG-13 ratings by default,” with limits on the types of responses given. how teens experience the app, making it more ‘PG-13’

- by Naing - Leave a Comment

Instagram said Tuesday that it would overhaul its approach to teenagers’ accounts and try to crack down on their access to objectionable content after a firestorm of bad publicity over how teens …

Instagram said Tuesday that it would overhaul its approach to teenagers’ accounts and try to crack down on their access to objectionable content after a firestorm of bad publicity over how teens use the social media app. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, announced a series of changes that it said were aimed at making teens’ experience on Instagram similar to viewing PG-13 movies, with equivalent restrictions on sexualized content and other adult material. One new restriction that Instagram said it would adopt is called age-gating: If an Instagram account regularly shares content that is age-inappropriate — for example, content related to alcohol or links to pornographic websites — then, the company said, it will block all teen accounts from being able to see or chat with that account. The age-gating could apply even to celebrities or other widely followed adult accounts, Instagram said. But it did not say precisely where it would draw the line for adult accounts that do not want to be age-gated. A company representative said sharing one piece of age-inappropriate content would not be enough for an adult-run account to lose access to the teen audience. Other apps, such as YouTube, also use age-gating to restrict access to certain types of content. A second new restriction on Instagram will block teens’ search results for a wider range of adult search terms, going beyond its current list of restricted terms, it says. The changes apply only to teen-specific accounts, which are accounts that teens have created using their truthful birth dates or accounts that Instagram has determined through its own investigation are likely to be those of people under 18 years old. It is common for teens to lie about their ages online to avoid certain restrictions. A 2024 survey of U.K. teens by the media regulator Ofcom found that 22% of 17-year-olds said they lied on social media that they were 18 or older. A representative for Instagram said it tries to catch teens who lie about their ages but declined to say how often it finds them doing so. In announcing the latest changes, Instagram said it was borrowing the thinking behind the PG-13 movie rating, which suggests “parental guidance” because of “some material parents might not like for their young children.” The film industry voluntarily released the modern film rating system in the 1960s when it, too, was facing the threat of government regulation. “Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram — but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” Instagram said in a statement. The company said that for teen accounts, it would hide or not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, sexually suggestive poses or marijuana paraphernalia. It also said artificial intelligence experiences for teens would be “guided by PG-13 ratings by default,” with limits on the types of responses given.Instagram said Tuesday that it would overhaul its approach to teenagers’ accounts and try to crack down on their access to objectionable content after a firestorm of bad publicity over how teens use the social media app. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, announced a series of changes that it said were aimed at making teens’ experience on Instagram similar to viewing PG-13 movies, with equivalent restrictions on sexualized content and other adult material. One new restriction that Instagram said it would adopt is called age-gating: If an Instagram account regularly shares content that is age-inappropriate — for example, content related to alcohol or links to pornographic websites — then, the company said, it will block all teen accounts from being able to see or chat with that account. The age-gating could apply even to celebrities or other widely followed adult accounts, Instagram said. But it did not say precisely where it would draw the line for adult accounts that do not want to be age-gated. A company representative said sharing one piece of age-inappropriate content would not be enough for an adult-run account to lose access to the teen audience. Other apps, such as YouTube, also use age-gating to restrict access to certain types of content. A second new restriction on Instagram will block teens’ search results for a wider range of adult search terms, going beyond its current list of restricted terms, it says. The changes apply only to teen-specific accounts, which are accounts that teens have created using their truthful birth dates or accounts that Instagram has determined through its own investigation are likely to be those of people under 18 years old. It is common for teens to lie about their ages online to avoid certain restrictions. A 2024 survey of U.K. teens by the media regulator Ofcom found that 22% of 17-year-olds said they lied on social media that they were 18 or older. A representative for Instagram said it tries to catch teens who lie about their ages but declined to say how often it finds them doing so. In announcing the latest changes, Instagram said it was borrowing the thinking behind the PG-13 movie rating, which suggests “parental guidance” because of “some material parents might not like for their young children.” The film industry voluntarily released the modern film rating system in the 1960s when it, too, was facing the threat of government regulation. “Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram — but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” Instagram said in a statement. The company said that for teen accounts, it would hide or not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, sexually suggestive poses or marijuana paraphernalia. It also said artificial intelligence experiences for teens would be “guided by PG-13 ratings by default,” with limits on the types of responses given. how teens experience the app, making it more ‘PG-13’ Read More