Instagram to notify parents if teens repeatedly search for suicide or self-harm content

“"Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said Meta should first work on addressing its internal algorithm that still 'actively' recommends harmful content to young people before 'making yet another cynically timed announcement that passes the buck to parents'”

“"A study by child safety groups and cyber researchers in September found that 30 out of 47 safety tools for teens on Instagram were 'substantially ineffective or no longer exist'”

“"Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott slammed the PM for failing to immediately impose a ban for under-16s as apps continue to spark chaos”

“"Viral posts from anonymous accounts have called on pupils to bring weapons into classrooms -- including knives, rulers and scissors”

“"Experts have described the trials and related legal cases involving companies like Google's YouTube, TikTok and Snap as the social media industry's 'big tobacco' moment”

“"The parental supervision feature comes as the social media company faces allegations that the design and functionality of apps like Instagram foster detrimental effects on the mental health of young users”

“"Over the past year, several parents filed lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging that its flagship chatbot ChatGPT goaded their teens into committing suicide”

“"During his testimony, the tech bigwig admitted that keeping kids under 13 off the platforms was 'very difficult'”

“"The announcement comes as Meta is in the midst of two trials over harms to children”

“"Thousands of families - along with school districts and government entities - have sued Meta and other social media companies claiming they deliberately design their platforms to be addictive”

“"The move is the latest example of how tech companies are responding to concerns from parents, politicians and advocacy groups that they're not doing enough to protect young people from harmful content”

“"Instagram has an AI assistant within its search bar. Meta, which owns Instagram, is building similar alerts if teens try to have certain conversations about suicide and self-harm with its AI assistant”

“"Meta-owned Instagram will soon alert parents if their teenage child uses the app to search for content related to suicide or self-harm, the technology company's latest effort to shore up safety features”

“"Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week faced questioning about Instagram's young users and Meta's efforts to boost engagement”

“"The latest teen safety tools come as tech firms face increased scrutiny over how they protect young users on their platforms”

“"Instagram underscored that the platform currently blocks searches clearly associated with suicide and self-harm”

“"Instagram says it already blocks such content from showing up in teen accounts' search results and directs people to helplines instead”

“"Meta executives including CEO Mark Zuckerberg have disputed that the platforms cause addiction”

“"This clumsy announcement is fraught with risk and we are concerned that forced disclosures could do more harm than good”

“"Imagine being a parent of a teenager and getting a message at work saying 'your child is thinking of ending their life'... I don't know how I'd react”

“"When a young person searches about suicide or self-harm, empowering a parent to step in can be extremely important. The fact that Meta has now built this in is a meaningful step forward”

“"Meta is currently the subject of a lawsuit in New Mexico over allegations that it has failed to protect children from online predators”

“"Instagram says it already blocks such content from showing up in teen accounts' search results and directs people to helplines instead”

“"Zuckerberg said he still agrees with a previous statement he made that the existing body of scientific work has not proved that social media causes mental health harms”

“"Instagram said it would notify parents if their teenager repeatedly searches for terms related to suicide or self-harm within a short period, as pressure grows for governments to follow Australia's ban”

“"Governments are increasingly seeking to protect children from harm online, particularly after worries over the AI chatbot Grok which has generated non-consensual sexualised images”

“"Instagram will alert parents if teens repeatedly search for self-harm or suicide terms, starting next week”

“"The move shows that Instagram is ramping up efforts to shield younger users from potentially dangerous content as social-media platforms face renewed criticism from governments and regulators”

“"This move comes amid a global push for greater online child protection, following Australia's ban on social media for under-16s in December”

“"Instagram's 'teen accounts' for under-16s already require parental permission to alter settings”

“"The vast majority of teens do not try to search for suicide and self-harm content on Instagram, and when they do, our policy is to block these searches, instead directing them to resources and helplines that can offer support”

“"These alerts are designed to make sure parents are aware if their teen is repeatedly trying to search for this content”