Instagram’s ‘deliberate design choices’ make it unsafe for teens despite Meta promises, report says

Despite years of congressional hearings, lawsuits, academic research, whistleblowers, and testimony from parents and teenagers about the dangers of Instagram, Meta’s wildly popular app has failed to protect children from harm, with “woefully ineffective” safety measures, according to a new report from former employee and whistleblower Arturo Bejar and four nonprofit groups.

Meta’s efforts at addressing teen safety and mental health on its platforms have long been met with criticism that the changes don’t go far enough. Now, the report’s authors claim Meta has chosen not to take “real steps” to address safety concerns, “opting instead for splashy headlines about new tools for parents and Instagram Teen Accounts for underage users.”

The report Thursday came from Bejar and the Cybersecurity For Democracy at New York University and Northeastern University, as well as the Molly Rose Foundation, Fairplay and ParentsSOS.

Meta said the report misrepresents its efforts on teen safety.

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