Teenagers beneath 16 can not livestream on Fb, Messenger – Firstpost

Meta on Tuesday introduced that it’ll discontinue the livestreaming function on Instagram for teenagers in an effort to make the platform protected for underage customers.

Beneath the brand new security measures, teenagers beneath the age of 16 will not be capable of live-stream from their accounts with out parental permission. They may also require their dad and mom permission to change off the function that blurs delicate content material.

“We all know dad and mom are nervous about strangers contacting their teenagers – or teenagers receiving undesirable contact. Along with the present built-in protections provided by Teen Accounts, we’re including new restrictions for Instagram Reside and undesirable photographs in DMs,” Meta mentioned in an announcement.

Final yr, Instagram rolled out teen accounts designed particularly for underage customers. On Tuesday, the tech large prolonged teen accounts to Fb and Messenger. Teenagers are instantly positioned in such accounts, with these beneath 16 unable to alter settings with out parental permission.

In an announcement, Meta mentioned it was increasing the restrictions within the coming months to cease teenagers from going reside or turning off protections for undesirable photographs in direct messages on their very own.

“Teen Accounts on Fb and Messenger will supply related, automated protections to restrict inappropriate content material and undesirable contact, in addition to methods to make sure teenagers’ time is effectively spent,” it added.

Fb teen accounts will initially be out there in solely the US, UK, Australia and Canada following which it is going to be launched in different nations.

At the very least 54 million youngsters at present have a teen account, which additionally limits in a single day notifications and has reminders to go away the app after an hour.

Customers can solely be messaged by individuals they observe or are already linked to.

Adolescent use of social networks has prompted concern lately, notably in regards to the quantity of screentime and lack of moderation on some platforms.

In 2024, the Australian authorities banned social media for teenagers, inviting criticism from around the globe, together with from social media platforms.

TikTok lately launched a operate within the European Union permitting dad and mom to restrict the period of time that youngsters spend on the app.

With inputs from companies