Keep it PG-13: Instagram has new standards for teens

With regulators hot on its heels, Instagram is doing more to keep its teenage users safe. The Meta-owned app has a new set of guidelines that are inspired by the film industry. To prevent teens from coming across harmful content, Instagram is keeping it PG-13: Violent or profane material that pushes into R-rated territory will be unavailable on teen accounts.

Like its rivals, Instagram already offers a standard set of safety features that aim to protect users under the age of 18. Helpful as those tools may be, many parents feel that Instagram can still do more to protect its most vulnerable charges. With California set to place warning labels on social media platforms, concerns about the harms conveyed through those platforms are as intense as ever.

Instagram’s response involves a mix of technological and human-centric solutions. Like YouTube, the Meta-owned app is using generative AI to locate users who are lying about their age. Once kids are automatically locked into teen accounts, they will be unable to access content that is overly suggestive or mature. That means no alcohol ads, no over-the-top violence or risky stunts, and as little cursing as possible (though even Instagram acknowledges that it would be hard-pressed to scrub every swear word from teen-appropriate videos).

The result, in theory, will be “the Instagram equivalent of watching a PG-13 movie” — but is that a realistic goal? While interviewing Adam Mosseri 

on Today, Craig Melvin pressed the Instagram Head about the slipperiness of enforcement. Melvin reminded Mosseri that teens often use code words to evade moderators, and the top Insta exec admitted that “the work never ends” on that front.

“I feel like it’s my responsibility to try and shepherd the app as best I can into a healthy place over the long run, which I think is going to have to require that it is a really safe experience,” Mosseri said. “Not just for teens, but adults as well.”

Even if the PG-13 rating sticks, is that really the right system for social media? Under-18 users aren’t just threatened by violence and profanity. They also struggle with unrealistic body standards and cyberbullying — two subjects that can theoretically pass muster in a PG-13 setting. Using Hollywood as a benchmark at all feels somewhat outdated.

Ultimately, Instagram might be better suited to provide teens with positive resources rather than denying them access based on nebulous rules. That’s what YouTube is doing, and Instagram would be wise to follow along. In the meantime, parents who don’t agree with the new rules have the freedom to take restrictions off of their children’s accounts.