Instagram will alert parents if teen searches about suicide (Photo- Reuters)
AP, Washington. Instagram has added a new feature to its platform regarding the safety of teenage children. If a teen repeatedly searches words related to suicide or self-harm, it will alert their parents.
This alerting facility will be available only to those parents who are enrolled in the Parental Supervision Program of this internet media platform.
Meta-owned photo and video sharing platform Instagram on Thursday said it has already blocked such content from appearing in search results for teen accounts and directed people to a helpline. Alerts will be sent to parents via email, text or WhatsApp. Notification will also be sent from the Instagram account.
"These alerts build on our ongoing efforts to help protect teens from harmful content on Instagram," Instagram said in a statement. We have a strict policy against this type of content, which prevents it from promoting suicide or self-harm.
This step has been taken at a time when Meta is facing two lawsuits over content that may harm children.
A trial is underway in Los Angeles to question whether Meta's platforms intentionally harmed teenagers.
While in New Mexico it was alleged that Meta failed to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms. However, senior officials including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have rejected these allegations.