Meta advocates that parents decide which apps their children can use

O Instagram launched a campaign that argues that teenagers under 16 should not be allowed to download applications without authorization from their parents or guardians. The campaign takes place during legal proceedings against the Goalthe company that controls the social network, which alleges harm to children caused by its technologies.

In the ad, released On the platform's pages, Instagram says it supports federal legislation that requires app stores to obtain parental approval whenever teenagers under 16 make downloads.

According to Meta, this solution requires online stores to notify those responsible in the same way they are notified in purchase attempts. This way, they can decide whether or not to approve the use of the application.

“They can make sure their children don’t access adult content or apps, or apps that they simply don’t want their children to use.”, he explained. The company justifies that more than 75% of parents already agree that children under 16 should not be able to download applications from stores without permission.

In this way, the technology giant argues that the best way to support parents and young people is a solution “simple and comprehensive”where all applications are held to the same standard. “We are working directly with our industry colleagues and policymakers to advocate for this concept and ease the burden on parents.”he said.

The campaign comes at a time when Meta is facing legal proceedings in which it is accused of causing harm to children through its platforms. One is a class action lawsuit filed by school districts in the United States, alleging that Meta, along with ByteDance (TikTok), Snapchat and Alphabet (YouTube), is responsible for causing physical and emotional harm to children.

In a 2nd lawsuit, initiated by attorneys general from several North American states, the company is accused of intentionally addicting children to its technologies in search of profits.

On Wednesday (January 31), Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, argued that age verification should be an obligation of Apple and Google's app stores. The speech was during an audience in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on online child sexual exploitation. In court, he also apologized to families of children and teenagers who died after suffering violence on social media.

In addition to Zuckerberg, executive directors Shou Zi Chew (TikTok), Linda Yaccarino (X), Evan Spiegel (Snap) and Jason Citron (Discord). CEOs were asked about the measures adopted by platforms to protect users under 18 years of age.

US senators urged the CEOs of big techs to publicly support bills that aim to increase the protection of underage users. The United States is working to approve 5 initiatives. Are they:

• Kids Online Safety Act – complete (PDF – 516 kB, in English).

Holds applications and platforms responsible for recommending content for minors that may negatively affect users' mental health.

• Stop CSAM – complete (PDF – 919 kB, in English).

Allows victims of sexual assault to sue social media platforms that promoted or facilitated the assault.

• Earn It Act – complete (PDF – 279 kB, in English).

Establishes a National Commission to Prevent Online Child Sexual Exploitation.

• Shield Act – complete (PDF – 268 kB, in English).

It classifies sending and sharing sexual images of individuals as a crime.

• Project Safe Childhood – complete (PDF – 118 kB, in English).

Optimizes the investigation and prosecution of crimes involving sexual abuse of children and adolescents.

Meta already adopts some protection measures for minors on its social networks. In January, it introduced additional restrictions to limit teens' exposure to sensitive content on Instagram and Facebook. Additionally, it added alerts encouraging young people to close the app at night.

On January 25th, Meta announced stricter measures regarding messages aimed at teenagers on Instagram and Facebook. With the update, the ability to receive messages from unknown people has been disabled.

Additionally, before a teen can change certain Instagram settings, they will need approval from their parent or guardian through the social network's supervision tools.