Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri stated on the 11th, "The core of teen accounts is to automatically protect teenagers and allow parents to understand and manage it." Participating in a media briefing held in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul on this day via video connection, Mosseri explained, "We found a way to apply safety protection features more consistently and make them stronger, and the result is the teen account that we are introducing in several Asian countries, including Korea."
What are the features?
The teen account feature is a function that Instagram basically applies to teenagers aged 14 to 18 (based on Korean age). It started being applied in the US in September of last year, and it has been gradually introduced in Korea since last month. When classified as a teen account, it automatically switches to private. People who are not followers (people who the account owner has accepted to follow) cannot see the content of the teen account. You cannot send or receive DMs (direct messages), and tags and mentions are only possible for followers. In addition, content containing sensitive content such as fighting scenes or advertisements for cosmetic procedures is not recommended. Sleep mode is also applied, which turns off notifications from 10 PM to 7 AM.
Teenagers aged 17 to 18 can turn off this function themselves, but teenagers aged 14 to 16 need approval from the supervising parent account to change the settings. The parent account can manage the teen's app usage time, see the accounts the teen follows or who follows them, and the accounts they exchange messages with. However, the message content cannot be viewed. Mosseri said, "The goal is to give parents the authority to create the most appropriate usage environment for their children through control functions."
What you need to know
Compared to other SNSs with virtually no protection, this is a progressive measure. However, there are many loopholes. Instagram does not go through a separate verification process when entering the date of birth for the first time during the membership registration stage. If you enter a fake age from the beginning and bypass it, there is virtually no way to distinguish it. Regarding this, Mosseri said, "There are many ways to prevent lying." "Depending on the regulations, if there is a suspected person, we can ask them to upload their ID card or ask them to verify their face." Lee Seul-gi, Meta Korea's Public Policy Team Leader, said, "Even if you enter that you are an adult, if the account mainly communicates with teen accounts aged 14 to 15, we can identify cases where the actual age is suspected through the adult classifier function and request additional authentication, and we are constantly developing technology."
Mosseri emphasized that cooperation with operating systems (OS) or device operators is needed for a safer environment. He said, "I think Instagram also has a responsibility, but it is difficult to verify age at the app level. It is important to protect teenagers, such as verifying age at the OS or device level, such as Apple or Google."
He also explained why the parent account cannot see the message content on the teen account. Mosseri said, "We need to consider the experience of parents, but we also need to consider the experience of teenagers. If there are too many restrictions, it will lead to teenagers bypassing protective measures." "We are finding a balance between giving parents authority and preventing teenagers from bypassing it." Jeong Da-jeong, Instagram Public Relations Manager, added, "If parents intervene excessively, such as viewing message content, teenagers may move to other platforms." "Instead, parents can set it so that their children can only send messages to people they follow."
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