Australia

Meta Expands Teen Safety Controls Across Platforms

Published APR 9 2025

Story

Above: The Meta Platforms Inc. logo is displayed on a monitor. Image credit: Igor Golovniov/Contributor/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Facts

Meta Platforms on Tuesday announced that users under 16 will need parental permission to livestream on Instagram or unblur suspected nudity in direct messages, expanding protective measures first introduced to Instagram in September 2024.
CBS News
New York Post
The social media company is also extending its Teen Account safeguards to Facebook and Messenger platforms, which automatically make accounts private, limit messaging capabilities, and enforce content restrictions for users under 18.
TechCrunch
ap
Since launching Teen Accounts on Instagram, Meta has enrolled approximately 54 million teenage users globally, with 97% of teens aged 13-15 maintaining the built-in protective restrictions.
Meta
Meta will initially roll out the new protections in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia before expanding to additional regions.
BBC News
ap
The expanded safety measures include features that send notifications to close apps after an hour of screen time, activate "quiet mode" during nighttime hours, and restrict message exchanges to only people teens follow or have previously messaged.
New York Post
CBS News
Meta's enhanced teen protections come amid increasing regulatory pressure and legal challenges, including a lawsuit from 33 states in late 2023 alleging the company deliberately engineered its platforms to be addictive to children and teens.
Reuters
ap

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

These expanded safety features demonstrate Meta's commitment to protecting young users while maintaining engagement. So far, 94% of parents have reported these restrictions as helpful and the company is continuing to actively respond to concerns about online safety.

TechCrunch

Narrative B

The timing of these changes appears reactive rather than proactive, as they come only after intense regulatory scrutiny and legal pressure. Given the weak age verification system, they also do little to tackle the core risks faced by young users. Instead, they foster a false sense of security that encourages complacency rather than meaningful protection.

Independent

NL Times