May 22, 2026 | 07:26 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Teen Accounts feature on Instagram will implement default age-based content filters modeled after 13+ movie classifications, announced Berni Moestafa, the Head of Public Policy at Meta in Indonesia. The tech giant aims to provide a more age-appropriate digital environment for teenagers while giving parents greater peace of mind regarding online safety. "Today, we have updated the Teen Accounts for ages 13 and above," she said during the 'Smart Digital' event in Jakarta on Friday, May 22, 2026.Under these default settings, teenage users will automatically see age-appropriate material, mirroring the familiarity of the film rating system. According to Meta, this approach is more intuitive for the public and helps parents easily grasp the nature of the content their children can access.Meta is also expanding these safeguards uniformly across various Instagram features. The age-based content filters for users aged 13 and older will now govern Reels, Stories, Recommendations, Search, comments, direct messages (DMs), and artificial intelligence (AI) experiences on the platform.Additionally, Meta has introduced an even stricter fallback option called 'Limited Content.' This feature is designed to apply a heavy filter to the material shown to adolescent users. According to Berni, these settings also bar teenagers from viewing, posting, or receiving comments on their posts.Berni acknowledged that a flawless system for protecting teenagers in the digital ecosystem does not yet exist. To combat ongoing risks, Meta is continuing its partnership with ECPAT Indonesia—the local chapter of the network to End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes—a national civil society organization dedicated to eradicating the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), through the nationwide rollout of its 'Smart Digital Parenting' training program. "The goal is to equip more families with practical guidance and foster healthy digital habits," she explained.This initiative is set to reach thousands of parents across Denpasar, Yogyakarta, Batam, and Kupang. The rollout also includes building 'Parent Champions' communities, whose members are trained to champion awareness of healthy digital habits in their local areas.Alexander Sabar, the Director General of Digital Space Supervision at the Ministry of Communication and Information, noted that Meta's efforts should reflect a sustained commitment required from all Electronic System Providers (PSE) to foster a safer online environment. "Efforts like this show that child protection in the digital sphere demands genuine collaboration among the government, tech platforms, parents, and society," he said.Read: Meta Lays Off 10 Percent Workforce in AI PushClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
