Instagram tightens rules for teens with Yoti age estimation

Tightening regulations and clenching fists around age verification for social media have prompted Instagram to introduce a new account category for teenagers, with age estimation and verification provided by Yoti.

Teen accounts have limitations to their contacts and content, which can only be lifted by a parent. The new category also includes tagging restrictions, overnight sleep mode and notifications when teens have used the app for a long time.

The settings can be changed, but only with parental permission, which is where Yoti’s facial age estimation comes in. Instagram also promises more age verifications, and says it is proactively looking for accounts held by teens masquerading as adults.

“Many people, especially parents, want reassurance from brands that children are getting age appropriate experiences online,” Yoti CEO Robin Tombs told Biometric Update in an email. “Yoti is delighted to be working with Instagram to help ensure teenagers throughout the world will be able to enjoy safer interactions with their peers via Teen accounts.”

The changes are expected to take effect within 60 days in the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia, with the EU following later in 2024. Teen Accounts launch throughout the rest of the world in January, and will then be launched to other Meta platforms.

Instagram began rolling out age estimation based on selfie biometrics from Yoti in mid-2022.

American parents want tougher regulation

Just over one-third of U.S. parents are willing to give their children unrestricted access to social media platforms, without parental controls, according to a new survey from Verifymy. Fifty-five percent currently use parental controls.

The survey of 1,500 parents shows that almost all (96 percent) consider themselves educated about online risks to children. One in three say websites and online platforms do not take sufficient measures to protect young people.

Over a quarter of parents would give their 11 or 12-year-old a smartphone, and 85 percent would give their child a smartphone before they reach 16.

A large majority (77 percent) believe governments need to enact stricter regulations and laws to protect children online.

“It’s really positive to see this level of proactivity from parents in keeping their children safe online. They are doing all the right things, in the face of a challenging online environment,” says Verifymy COO Andy Lulham.

“Through necessity, many parents have now become online safety experts. But, they also want to see more from the industry and the Government. They’re rightly unhappy with the status quo as online harms are still rife. It’s now up to the industry and the Government to continue its crucial work here and never slacken the pace in making the internet a safe place for all.”

Meanwhile, free speech advocates in the U.S. are urging the Supreme Court to throw out the rules Texas is trying to put in place for online access to pornography and other sexual content, having already defeated the social media side of the same legislation.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Quinn Emanuel filed a brief on behalf of the plaintiffs in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. The rules in H.B. 1181 that online content providers offering content of which a third or more is harmful to minors would have to enforce age checks. The brief argues that this regulation would restrict access to material which is protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment.

Canada’s official opposition unveils proposal

Across the 49th parallel in Canada, the opposition Conservative Party has introduced a bill in the House of Commons this week to address online harms.

The proposed Protection of Minors in the Digital Age Act includes protections against online harassment, as well as age verification rules for operators of platforms with content “inappropriate for children.” The operators would be required to “use computer algorithms that ensure reliable age verification and that preserve privacy.”

The bill would prohibit “an operator to require or request the use of a digital identifier that serves as an electronic representation of an individual’s identity and of their right to access information or services online.”

This presumably means facial age estimation would be one of the few measures allowed. The voluntary use of digital ID may also be an option, but sponsoring Member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner says that “given many Canadian’s concerns about privacy and the potential for misuse of digital IDs, Bill C-412 expressly prohibits using a digital identifier.”

No method is expressly endorsed or suggested in the Act.

Rempel Garner notes that the governing Liberal Party has introduced two bills addressing online harms (C-63 and S-210), neither of which has passed into law.

The proposal carries extra weight, given the possibility that the minority government will fall imminently, sparking an election which could give the Conservative Party lawmaking power.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  children  |  face biometrics  |  Instagram  |  regulation  |  social media  |  VerifyMy  |  Yoti