Instagram is developing new ways to make the network more secure for young users. The photo-sharing app will now launch a new feature that will implore youngsters to stay away from hazardous content and encourage them to “take a break” from Instagram. Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, revealed the new features. Clegg made the statement immediately after an ex-Facebook employee turned whistleblower made frightening charges about Facebook affecting teenage users via Instagram.
Clegg discussed the features at CNN’s State of the Union, saying, “We’re going to introduce something that I think will make a significant difference, which is where our systems see that a teenager is looking at the same content over and over again, and it’s content that may not be conducive to their well-being, we will nudge them to look at other content.” He also stated that the company is working on a feature that simply asks teenagers to leave the network. Clegg, on the other hand, has not said when the additional functionality will be made available.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri previously mentioned working on the “take a break” function. “We’re encouraging people to explore other topics if they dwell on things that may lead to bad social comparison, and developing a tool tentatively called “Take a Break,” where users could pause their accounts and question whether the time they’re spending is worth it,” he had said.
Francis Haugen, a former Facebook employee turned whistleblower, spoke before a Senate committee about her Facebook experience, and she also urged Congress to take harsh action against the social media firm for allegedly creating a poisonous atmosphere for kids on Instagram. She claimed that Facebook was aware of the negative impacts of Instagram on teens but did nothing to address it.
Instagram has postponed its plans to establish Instagram Kids, a service for users under the age of 13, after receiving harsh criticism from child safety groups.
