Instagram to use PG-13 rating to limit content for teenagers

Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won’t be able to change their settings without a parent’s permission, parent company Meta announced on Tuesday.

This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a movie rated PG-13 in the United States — no sex, drugs, or dangerous stunts, among other restrictions.

“This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviours, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia,” Meta said in a blog post Tuesday, calling the update the most significant since it introduced teen accounts last year.

The company is also adding an even stricter setting that parents can set up for their children.

Meta said the update will be rolled out first in the US, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and elsewhere by the end of the year.

The changes come as the social media giant faces relentless criticism over harms to children. As it seeks to add safeguards for teens, Meta has already promised it wouldn’t show inappropriate content to young people, such as posts about self-harm, eating disorders, or suicide.

But this does not always work. A recent report, for instance, found that teen accounts researchers created were recommended age-inappropriate sexual content, including “graphic sexual descriptions, the use of cartoons to describe demeaning sexual acts, and brief displays of nudity”.

In addition, Instagram also recommended a “range of self-harm, self-injury, and body image content” on teen accounts that the report says “would be reasonably likely to result in adverse impacts for young people, including teenagers experiencing poor mental health, or self-harm and suicidal ideation and behaviours”.

Meta says the new restrictions go further than its previous safeguards.

Teens will no longer be able to follow accounts that regularly share “age-inappropriate content” or if their name or bio contains something that isn’t appropriate for teens, such as a link to an OnlyFans account.

If teens already follow these accounts, they’ll no longer be able to see or interact with their content, send them messages, or see their comments under anyone’s posts, the company said. These accounts also won’t be able to follow teens, send them private messages, or comment on their posts.

Meta said it already blocks certain search terms related to sensitive topics such as suicide and eating disorders, but the latest update will expand this to a broader range of terms, such as “alcohol” or “gore” — even if they are misspelled.

The PG-13 update will also apply artificial intelligence (AI) chats and experiences targeted to teens, Meta said, “meaning AIs should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie”.

For parents who want an even stricter setting for their kids, Meta is also launching a “limited content” restriction that will block more content and remove teens’ ability to see, leave, or receive comments under posts.