Meta updates safety features for teens. More than 600,000 accounts linked to predatory behavior

In a significant move aimed at enhancing the safety of its younger users, Meta unveiled new features on Wednesday designed specifically for teen accounts. These upgrades focus on improving direct messaging protections to guard against exploitative content and interactions. Teen users will now receive crucial information about their chat partners, such as the age of their Instagram accounts and additional safety tips to help identify potential scammers. Furthermore, a new streamlined process allows teens to block and report suspicious accounts in one simple action. According to Meta, in June alone, users took action to block accounts a staggering one million times and reported another million after receiving a Safety Notice. This initiative forms part of Meta's broader strategy to safeguard children and teenagers on its platforms, especially in light of increasing pressure from policymakers who have criticized the company for inadequately protecting young users from sexual exploitation. Earlier this year, Meta reported the removal of nearly 135,000 Instagram accounts that were involved in sexualizing minors on the platform. These accounts were flagged for leaving inappropriate comments or soliciting explicit images from adult-managed profiles featuring children. Additionally, Meta took action to deactivate around 500,000 accounts on Instagram and Facebook that were connected to the problematic profiles. The company is now proactively placing accounts representing teens and children into stricter messaging and comment settings, designed to filter out harmful messages and limit interactions with unknown users. While Instagram mandates that users be at least 13 years old, it allows adults to manage accounts for younger children, provided the bio clearly indicates adult supervision. However, Meta has faced backlash, including allegations from several state attorneys general, about the addictive nature of its apps and their negative impact on children's mental health. In a related effort, Meta announced the removal of approximately 10 million accounts impersonating prominent content creators during the first half of 2025 as part of its ongoing battle against spam and misleading content. Legislative efforts to regulate social media for child safety are also gaining momentum, with the reintroduction of the Kids Online Safety Act in Congress, which aims to impose a “duty of care” on platforms to ensure their services do not endanger children. Recently, Snapchat faced a lawsuit from New Mexico, accusing it of enabling an environment where predators can easily exploit children through sextortion schemes.