Meta said that it has removed 135,000 Instagram accounts for “sexualizing children,” and has launched new protections for teenage users.

A further half a million Instagram and Facebook accounts were removed by the platform when they were found to be linked to the offending profiles …

reports that Meta is responding to growing concern about the safety of its platforms for teen users.

Meta said it removed nearly 135,000 Instagram accounts earlier this year that were sexualizing children on the platform. The removed accounts were found to be leaving sexualized comments or requesting sexual images from adult-managed accounts featuring children […]

This policy is part of a broader push by Meta to protect teens and children on its platforms, following mounting scrutiny from policymakers who accused the company of failing to shield young users from sexual exploitation.

Meta has also belatedly applied a new default safety setting to teen accounts, as well as those run by adults on behalf of children. This means that offensive messages will be automatically blocked, and messages from strangers will be limited.

Social media platforms have attracted growing concerns from lawmakers about use by teens, with accusations that the apps are deliberately intended to become addictive; damage mental health by promoting unrealistic beauty standards; facilitate cyber-bullying; and leave teens vulnerable to grooming by sexual predators.

The Senate last year passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

KOSA requires social media companies like Meta to offer controls to disable algorithmic feeds and other “addictive” features for children under the age of 16. It also requires companies to provide parental supervision features and safeguard minors from content that promotes eating disorders, self harm, sexual exploitation and other harmful content.

However, it failed to reach a vote in the House, and was described as not a priority for the legislature. CNBC notes that it was reintroduced earlier this year, and there is now hope that it will finally become law. Meta likely wants to get ahead of this.

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