Instagram will prevent young people from seeing content about suicide – 01/09/2024 – Tech

Meta —owner of Facebook and Instagram— increased restrictions on teenagers’ accounts on its social networks with the aim of reinforcing protection against publications considered harmful to mental health. The company will hide search results related to suicide, self-harm or eating disorders and redirect young people to specialized help services.

The announced changes, according to Meta, will come into effect in the “next months”. There is no set date. Accounts for minors registered from this Tuesday (9), however, will already have stricter settings.

Until then, there were no significant differences between the accounts of minors and adults. In compliance with United States law, social platforms must only allow registration of people aged 13 or over, although there is no effective policy for authenticating the user’s age.

The update to the company’s policy comes in the wake of a lawsuit in which more than 40 American states are suing Meta, with accusations that Facebook and Instagram “harm the mental health of young people.” The action was filed on October 24, 2023.

Asked about the litigation, Meta expressed disappointment “that attorneys general chose this path rather than working productively with companies in the industry to create clear, age-appropriate regulations for the countless apps used by teens.”

In the statement released this Tuesday, Meta says that it “constantly consults with experts in adolescent development, psychology and mental health to help make its platforms safe and age-appropriate for teenagers.”

According to big tech, Facebook and Instagram continue to allow people to share content that discusses their own struggles with suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. When these are the topics, it is recommended to seek professional help from organizations such as the CVV (Center for the Valorization of Life).

The company’s new policy, however, consists of not recommending this content and also making access to these publications difficult.

On Instagram, active restrictions are in the “Sensitive content control” section and, on Facebook, in “Reduce”. These mechanisms make it difficult to find materials and profiles related to “sensitive topics”.

The company will send notifications to accounts whose owners said they were minors to inform them of the adoption of the new policy. These teens will have the option to turn on recommended settings.

Still in 2021, the Sheet showed that Brazilians perceived there to be more serious problems with bullying and exploitation of children on Facebook than on other platforms, when former Meta employee, Frances Haugen, delivered a series of internal company reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, in the English acronym).

In an internal Meta survey released at the time, one of the main criticisms made of Facebook was that the company neglected content moderation in countries seen as less important than the USA, the United Kingdom and European Union nations.

CVV (Center for the Valuation of Life)
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