Meta-owned image and video-sharing platform Instagram has announced that its updated age-appropriate content rating and limited content setting will now be available in India for kids aged 13 and above. The feature was initially rolled out in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
The updated content settings will mean that teenagers in India will be able to view only content similar to what they would likely see in an age-appropriate movie. All kids under 18 will be placed in this category going forward, and they will not be able to change the settings without a parent’s permission, Meta said in a blog post announcing the changes.
“Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a movie rated for ages 13+, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram, but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible. We recognise no system is perfect, and we’re committed to improving over time,” Meta said.
Further, teenagers will not be able to follow accounts that regularly share content inappropriate for kids under 18. Even if the name or bio of such accounts suggests that the content within them is inappropriate for teenagers, Meta will restrict kids from viewing them.
Teenage users who already follow such accounts will no longer be able to see the content shared by such inappropriate accounts, send them direct messages or see the comments made by such accounts on anyone’s posts.
“We won’t recommend these accounts to teens, and we’ll make it harder for teens to find these accounts in search. These protections work both ways: these accounts won’t be able to follow teens, send them DMs, or comment on their posts,” Meta said.
These changes come even as governments across the world are debating tightening teenagers’ access to social media intermediaries.
In India, while the central government is talking to stakeholders to figure out ways to restrict or regulate access to social media for kids below the age of 16, some states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have taken a few concrete steps by proposing laws to regulate social media access.
