Zoe Kleinman, BBC's technology editor, joins Marianna Spring, a misinformation correspondent, and Munira Wilson, a Liberal Democrat MP, to discuss Instagram's new protective measures for teens. They explore the implications of stricter privacy settings and parental controls on young users. The conversation dives into the challenges of harmful content and the responsibility shared by tech companies and parents. Additionally, they touch on the Liberal Democrats' agenda, emphasizing accountability and the need for reform in politics.
Instagram's new features for teen accounts aim to enhance privacy and parental oversight, addressing concerns about youth safety online.
The shift of monitoring responsibility to parents raises questions about their preparedness to manage social media's complexities for their teens.
Deep dives
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Instagram's New Safety Measures for Teens
Instagram is implementing changes aimed at enhancing the safety of young users, particularly those aged 13 to 15. These new 'teen accounts' will prioritize privacy by making accounts private by default and requiring parental consent for certain changes such as account visibility. Additional features include muting notifications overnight and issuing alerts after excessive app usage, thereby promoting healthy engagement with the platform. These steps represent Instagram's effort to address ongoing concerns about the negative impact of social media on youth while increasing parental oversight.
The Role of Parents in Online Safety
The responsibility for monitoring young people's online activity is increasingly shifting to parents with Instagram's new measures. Parents will have visibility into who their teens are messaging, although they will not access the actual content of these messages. Critics express concern that this delegation of responsibility may inadvertently increase parental burdens, especially when many parents may not understand how best to utilize the features available. This highlights an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of social media companies in ensuring the safety of their platforms while also shifting some accountability to parents.
The Impact of Regulations and Algorithms
Concerns surrounding social media's impact on youth are underscored by discussions about the effectiveness of platform algorithms in promoting harmful content. Regulatory efforts, such as the forthcoming Online Safety Act in the UK, aim to hold social media companies accountable for the content shared on their platforms. Experts suggest that separating platforms intended for youth from those for adults could be beneficial in preventing exposure to inappropriate content. The conversation pushes for tech companies to balance their responsibilities as facilitators of communication with the social obligation to protect their users, particularly vulnerable populations like teenagers.
Today, we look at new measures that aim to protect teens on Instagram.
Social media company, Meta, have announced "built-in protections" to teen accounts as well as greater controls for parents. But will it work? James is joined by the BBC’s technology editor Zoe Kleinman plus disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring.
And Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, joins James from the final day of the Liberal Democrats party conference, where Election Success, the NHS, and… Brexit have all been on the agenda.
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Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by James Cook. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Reeta Jobanputra and Anna Harris. The technical producer was Ricardo McCarthy. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.
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