Meta announced Tuesday that Instagram will now restrict teenage users to PG-13 content by default. Teens will not be able to change those settings without parental approval.
Parents will also have the option to set even stricter content limits if they choose. Instagram said inappropriate content will be blocked from appearing in teenagers' feeds, stories, comments, recommendations, and links in DMs.
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The changes follow Meta’s pledge to reduce teens’ exposure to topics like self-harm, eating disorders and suicide. However, the company has not always met those goals.
The rollout begins for users in the United States, Canada and Australia today and will continue through the rest of the year. The changes are set to expand globally next year.
Instagram also said it will use age‑prediction technology to catch teens misrepresenting their age.
"We took parent feedback into account as we developed these changes, and we’re giving parents ways to continue providing us with feedback so we can make improvements. We invited thousands of parents around the world to rate real Instagram content and tell us if they thought it was appropriate for teens. We received over 3 million content ratings from parents and incorporated this feedback when refining our age-appropriate guidelines," Instagram said.
What constitutes a PG-13 rating
Officially, PG-13 movies warn "Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13."
"Any drug use will initially require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will require at least a PG-13 rating, but such nudity in a PG-13 rated motion picture generally will not be sexually oriented," the Motion Picture Association said. "There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence. A motion picture's single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context."
