Meta Announces New Parental Controls For Instagram & Facebook

Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, is making it easier for parents to control their kids’ online activity – that is, if the kids are OK with it.

New tools will allow parents to set online time limits, see who their children follow, see who follows them, and track how much time their kids spend on the social media platforms, Meta officials reveal.

The tools will “help parents understand how well their teen knows these accounts, and help prompt offline conversations about those connections,” according to a statement released by the company.

However, to make these tools available to parents, their kids must first sign off on them – and that’s raising questions about their effectiveness. Among the critics is Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer, who calls the new policy a “smoke screen.” He adds, “None of these new features address the negative impact their business model is having on the well-being of kids, including their mental health. We need national privacy laws to protect kids.”

Why would a teen want his or her parents to monitor social media accounts?