Instagram has announced a new feature that will alert parents if their teenage children repeatedly search for terms related to self-harm or suicide in a short period. This move comes amidst growing pressure for governments to implement regulations similar to Australia’s ban on social media use for individuals under 16.
Owned by Meta Platforms Inc., Instagram will begin notifying parents who are part of its optional supervision setting when their children attempt to access self-harm or suicide content. These alerts will commence next week for users in Canada, the United States, Britain, and Australia. The platform emphasized that these alerts are an addition to their existing efforts to safeguard teenagers from harmful content, stating that they have strict policies against content that promotes self-harm or suicide.
Instagram’s current policy involves blocking such searches and directing users to support resources. Governments worldwide are increasingly focusing on protecting minors from online harm, particularly fueled by concerns surrounding the AI chatbot Grok that has been generating non-consensual sexualized images. Countries like Britain and Australia have already taken steps towards online child protection, with Spain, Greece, and Slovenia also exploring similar limitations.
In the UK, measures aimed at restricting access to adult content for children have sparked debates over privacy implications for adults and tensions with the US regarding free speech and regulatory boundaries. Instagram’s “teen accounts” for those under 16 require parental consent to modify settings, offering an additional monitoring layer that parents can activate with their teenager’s agreement. These accounts also restrict access to sensitive content, such as sexually suggestive or violent material, for teenage users.