Why Facebook is making changes for Teens in its New Instagram Controls?

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Facebook will introduce several features including prompting teens to take a break using its photo-sharing app Instagram and pushing away teens if they are repeatedly looking at the same content that’s not conducive to their well-being. Moreover, Menlo Park, California-based Facebook is also planning to introduce new controls for adults of teens on an optional basis so that parents or guardians can supervise what their teens are doing online. These initiatives come after Facebook announced late last month that it was pausing work on its Instagram for Kids project. But critics say the plan lacks details and they are skeptical that the new features would be effective. Facebook’s vice president for global affairs, Nick Clegg outlined the new controls on Sunday.

Clegg was grilled about Facebook’s use of algorithms as well as its role in spreading harmful misinformation ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. He said, “We are constantly iterating in order to improve our products. We can’t with a wave of the wand to make everyone’s life perfect. What we can do is improve our products, so that our products are as safe and as enjoyable to use”. Clegg said that Facebook has invested $13 billion over the past few years in making sure to keep the platform safe and that the company has 40,000 people working on these issues. The flurry of interviews came after whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former data scientist with Facebook, went before Congress last week to accuse the social media platform of failing to make changes to Instagram.

However, the internal research showed apparent harm to some teens and of being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation. Haugen’s allegations were supported by tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company’s civic integrity unit. The executive director of Fairplay, Josh Golin said that he doesn’t think introducing controls to help parents supervise teens would be effective since many teens set up secret accounts anyway. He pointed out that Facebook needs to show exactly how they would implement it and offer research that shows these tools are effective. He said, “There is tremendous reason to be skeptical. Regulators need to restrict what Facebook does with its algorithms.