HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is expressing disappointment that Meta's newly announced Instagram accounts for teens don't go far enough to protect young people online.
Meta announced on Tuesday that they would be rolling out a new default account type to Instagram users between 13-17. These teen accounts will be made private by default and will restrict private messaging to only accounts they follow or are already connected to, in an effort to reduce the number of strange adults contacting teens.
The accounts will also limit the amount of "sensitive" content that is viewable to users, including fights and cosmetic procedures. Teens will also be notified if they are on the app for more than an hour at a time and sleep mode will be enabled from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., silencing notifications.
These options will be on by default for all teen accounts, though users who are 16 and 17 will be able to disable them. Younger users will need parental permission to do so.
In a statement made after the announcement, AG Tong said Meta's new accounts are "not nearly enough" to protect kids from the dangers of social media. Tong stressed the addictive nature of social media platforms, which exists by design, as one of the real threats to kids' well-being.
"Under intense pressure from law enforcement, parents, educators, and public health professionals, Meta is doing the very least it can do to look like it is doing something," reads the statement. "I sincerely hope that these changes help because our kids are hurting, but I’m skeptical. As I and others have said before, these dangerously addictive platforms and their algorithms and infinite scroll features—called behavioral cocaine by one developer—are designed to override self-control and maximize profits. ‘Teen Accounts’ do not appear to address those fiercely addictive features. This announcement changes nothing with respect to our active litigation against Meta. We’re continuing to press our case to force this broken industry to respect the law and the safety and wellbeing of our kids."
In 2023, Connecticut joined 44 other states plus the District of Columbia in suing the social media giant. The lawsuits allege that Meta "knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and its other social media platforms" with the intention of capturing the attention of minors.
The states argue that these practices are in violation of consumer protection laws, as well as the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) and that they have harmed minors who use their platforms.
The Instagram Teen accounts will be deployed to all new teen users starting on Tuesday. Minors who are already using the platform will be migrated over as well.
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Tricia Ennis is the Director of Digital Content at FOX61 News. They can be reached at tennis@fox61.com.
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