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Making sure teens have access to age-appropriate experiences online is a top priority at <\/span>Meta, and <\/span>understanding the age of users is an industry-wide problem and remains a concern for most Canadians. We asked Counsel Public Affairs to conduct polling on the policies Canadians would like to see implemented to help create safer online experiences for teens. <\/span>And th<\/span>e poll revealed that 83%<\/span> of parents support policies requiring app stores to verify a user\u2019s age before downloading new apps. Such policies are also supported by 81% of non-parents.<\/span><\/p>\n Since Meta introduced <\/span>Teen Accounts<\/span><\/a> last year, we\u2019ve placed hundreds of millions of teens in protected settings designed to address parents\u2019 top concerns, including automatic protections to limit who teens are talking to on Instagram and the content they\u2019re seeing. However, teens <\/span>typically<\/span> use an average of more than 40 apps a week and parents need clear, efficient ways to oversee the many apps their children use \u2013 not just ours \u2013 and they expect all apps to offer the same standard of protection. <\/span>Counsel\u2019s findings<\/span> u<\/span>nderscore that Canadian parents are seeking a consistent, industry-wide approach to youth safety online.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the survey, 90% of respondents believe that parents are ultimately responsible for decisions about which apps are appropriate for their children. <\/span>Here\u2019s how app store parental consent and age verification would work: Users in Canada would provide their age at the time of app store account creation. If a user is under the age of 18, their account would need to be linked to a verified parent or guardian who would approve or deny any app downloads. Once the user\u2019s age is verified, the app store would share a simple age signal \u2013 not personal details \u2013 with app developers, allowing apps to automatically place teens into age-appropriate safety settings. Parents would have a single place to manage their child\u2019s online access, reinforcing their role as gatekeepers.<\/span><\/p>\n Canadians also told Counsel that verified age information should help apps create age-appropriate environments by tailoring contact, content, and time spent online. Specifically, 82% of the people polled agree that apps should manage contact with strangers, 84% agree on managing content type, and 71% agree on managing the amount of time teens spend online.<\/span><\/p>\n Updating Teen Accounts New Content Settings\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n With Teen Accounts, safety protections are turned on automatically for all teens, including default private accounts, limiting who can contact teens, and helping ensure their time is well spent. Parents decide if teens under 16 can change any of these settings to be less strict, and <\/span>the vast majority of teens have stayed in the default settings.<\/span><\/p>\n We recently <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> that we\u2019re updating Instagram Teen Accounts to be guided by PG-13 movie ratings. This means that, by default, teens will see content on Instagram that\u2019s similar to what they\u2019d see in a PG-13 movie. Teens under 18 will be automatically placed into the new 13+ setting, and they won\u2019t be able to opt out without a parent\u2019s permission. For parents who prefer a more restrictive experience, a new, stricter \u201cLimited Content\u201d setting will also be available, filtering even more content and removing teens\u2019 ability to see, leave, or receive comments under posts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This change will apply across Instagram, from recommendations to Feed and Stories, comments and Search results. It will also apply to entire accounts \u2013 so teens won\u2019t be able to follow or interact with accounts that regularly share 18+ content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These updates have started rolling out to Instagram Teen Accounts in Canada and will be fully rolled out by the end of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n Meta\u2019s Approach to Teen AI Safety<\/b><\/p>\n As AI technology evolves, Meta is prioritizing teens\u2019 safety by <\/span>introducing<\/span><\/a> new controls that let parents see \u2013 and manage \u2013 how their teens are interacting with AI characters. <\/span>These new parental controls are in addition to the protections already automatically applied to Teen Accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n