Instagram adds tighter ‘PG-13’ content restrictions for teenagers

New settings will hide posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and marijuana paraphernalia

The update will come to Ireland early next year.

Instagram will prohibit users under 18 from seeing content considered inappropriate for a PG-13-rated movie, extending teen protections that were rolled out last year.

The popular social media site, which is owned by Meta, will use artificial intelligence to determine whether content on the app qualifies as PG-13, a well-known film rating system used by the Motion Picture Association and others to designate a movie’s suitability for certain audiences. 

Instagram already prohibits recommending certain content to teens, including graphic and sexually suggestive posts. The new settings will also hide posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and marijuana paraphernalia.

The updates will start rolling out in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada from tomorrow, and will come to Ireland and the rest of the world early next year.

“We decided to more closely align our policies with an independent standard that parents are familiar with,” the company wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. 

“Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, 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.” 

Teenagers will automatically be placed into these new, stricter settings, and cannot change them without a parent’s permission, according to the blog. Instagram is adding another new setting called “Limited Content” for parents who believe PG-13 standards are not strict enough for their child.

Instagram and other social networking companies are under fire for not doing enough to protect young users from predators and dangerous behaviour.

The company introduced teen accounts on Instagram last autumn to address some of these concerns. Those accounts come with stricter settings for users under 18, and Meta uses AI to determine when teens may be lying about their age to circumvent those restrictions. Meta also blocked teens under 16 from livestreaming on its apps earlier this year.

Teen accounts are now the default for all users under 18, but some older teens can change those settings on their own or ask a parent to change them. Most teens do not, however, the company has said.

Teens on Instagram will also now be barred from following accounts that “regularly share age-inappropriate content”, including accounts linking to OnlyFans pages in their bio or those openly broadcasting “18+” content, according to a Meta spokesperson. 

Those that are already following these kinds of accounts will “no longer be able to see or interact with their content”, according to the company’s blog post.

Bloomberg