Summary
- Australia will limit social media access for those under 16 from 10 December, raising the minimum age from 13.
- Instagram is updating its Teen Accounts feature, guiding content based on PG-13 movie ratings.
- Teens under 18 will automatically enter a stricter 13+ setting without the option to opt out unless permitted by parents.
- The platform will block teens from following accounts sharing age-inappropriate content and broaden restrictions on mature search terms.
- These changes follow increased concerns about online bullying, with complaints rising by 450% in the last five years.
Teenagers with Instagram will soon be restricted to viewing content in line with PG-13 movie ratings as Australia readies for a world-first social media ban.
From December 10, people across Australia under the age of 16 will no longer have access to social media accounts, increasing the minimum age from 13.
Governments around the world are closely watching Australia’s implementation of the ban, while some social media platforms have pushed back.
Ahead of the looming deadline, Instagram has announced changes to its Teen Accounts feature.
The feature was introduced in September 2024 and designed for people aged 13 to 17, including extra security settings.
Tara Hopkins, global director of public policy at Instagram’s parent company Meta, revealed further age restrictions on Wednesday.
The changes follow consultations with thousands of parents concerned about age-appropriate content.
Teenage content on Instagram would be guided by what a child would see in a PG-13 movie, Ms Hopkins said.
“Teens under 18 will be automatically placed into an updated 13+ setting, and they won’t be able to opt out without a parent’s permission,” she said.
Parents would have extra controls on what their child could view, with stricter settings available.
Ms Hopkins denied the changes were a last ditch effort to skirt Australia’s under-16s social media ban.
“This will be a global rollout,” she said.
“We have not built this specifically for Australia and what Australia is going through with the social media ban.”
Under the changes, teenagers will no longer be able to follow accounts the platform has found regularly share age-inappropriate content, or if their name or bio suggests the account is inappropriate for teens.
This may include creators on OnlyFans, an online subscription service where payment is exchanged for content and nudity is permitted, Ms Hopkins said.
If teens already follow these accounts, they’ll no longer be able to see or interact with their content or send them a direct message.
Instagram has also broadened the range of mature search terms that are blocked from teen accounts, including alcohol and gore.
The platform’s move comes ahead of Friday’s meeting of education ministers which will consider a new national standard on anti-bullying and action to support the rollout of the federal government’s world-leading social media laws.
“Bullying is a serious problem, and it’s getting worse,” Education Minister Jason Clare said.
“Complaints about online bullying to the eSafety Commissioner have increased by 450 per cent in the last five years.”
