Meta $META -5.07% announced Tuesday that it is extending its teen account content restrictions to Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger worldwide, while also testing a new Instagram feature designed to prevent young users from seeing too much of any single type of content in their feeds.
Tuesday's announcement extends a program Meta originally rolled out in a handful of countries last October. Teen accounts are currently defaulted to a content filter — labeled the 13+ setting — that screens out material the company considers age-inappropriate. Facebook and Messenger will gain an additional tier called "Limited Content," which applies even tighter restrictions, sometime before the end of the year.
A separate Instagram feature currently in testing would cap how frequently a given topic appears in a teenager's feed. In explaining the rationale, Meta said in a statement: "We recognize that some content — like posts about nutrition, weightlifting, or how to cope with anxiety — can be helpful, but it should be balanced with other types of content rather than shown repeatedly."
The announcements follow two courtroom defeats for Meta on child safety claims. A Los Angeles jury ruled against Meta and Alphabet $GOOGL -1.04%'s YouTube in March, holding both companies responsible for damages caused to a young woman by design choices such as infinite scroll and beauty filters and awarding her a combined $6 million, according to The New York Times. Also in March, New Mexico's attorney general secured a $375 million jury verdict against Meta over state consumer protection violations that the suit alleged included enabling the sexual exploitation of minors, according to The New York Times.
