Instagram has announced that parents will be notified if a minor user repeatedly searches for content related to suicide or self-harm in a short period of time.
The policy will initially be implemented in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada. The move comes at a time when pressure is growing in various countries to limit the access of minors to social media.
According to Meta Platforms, the company that owns Instagram, these alerts will only be sent to parents who are using the platform’s ‘supervision’ setting.
The company says that the promotion of suicide or self-harm content is strictly prohibited and that such search results are blocked and users are also directed to helpful resources.
It should be noted that after Australia banned the use of social media for children under 16, other countries are also considering laws.
In recent weeks, Greece, Spain, and Slovenia have also signaled plans to restrict minors’ online access.
The UK is considering tougher measures to protect children from online harm, while concerns have also been raised about the production of inappropriate content by AI chatbot ‘Grok’ in recent controversies.
According to Instagram, parental permission is required to change settings on accounts of users under the age of 16, while additional monitoring can also be enabled with the consent of the parent and the child.
