KEY FINDINGS:
Two out of three safety tools on Instagram Teen Accounts are ineffective or nonexistent, leaving children at dire risk of harm and abuse.
Teen Account users can easily or accidentally end up in rabbit holes of pro-suicide, pro-eating disorder, or self-harm content — and that Meta’s promised tools did not work to prevent those harms as promised.
Instagram’s own product design undermined its safety tools by recommending that teens connect with adult strangers, and by recommending workarounds for blocked search terms like “I want to starve myself” and “I want to hurt myself.”
Many children under 13 — some as young as 6 — are on the platform, and we found that they were incentivized by Instagram’s algorithm to perform sexualized behavior and connect with adult strangers, and that they experienced unwanted sexual advances in public comments.
Meta’s claims about Teen Accounts are misleading, and the company broke its promises to parents about keeping their kids safe. The company cannot be trusted to self-regulate. Advocates call on the US Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act; the UK Government to strengthen the Online Safety Act; and Ofcom to act with greater urgency against failings by large tech companies.
METHODOLOGY
In March 2025, Arturo Béjar assessed Instagram’s safety tools for teens using test Teen Accounts. In June and July, Cybersecurity for Democracy, which is based out of NYU and Northeastern University, worked with Béjar to independently verify the testing results.
The testing evaluated 47 of the 53 Instagram safety tools listed on Meta’s website under “Our tools, features, and resources to help support teens and parents.” Each tool was given a red, yellow, or green rating following the rubric and methodology in the report.
Learn more on pages 13-17 of the report!
TAKE ACTION!
It’s clear that Meta cannot be trusted to self-regulate. Congress must rein this dangerous company in.
Reach out to your Senators and Representatives today and tell them to pass the Kids Online Safety Act to force Big Tech to put children’s safety first!
Knowledge is power! Big Tech can only get away with their deceptions as long as they are operating in the dark.
Use the links below to share this report on your social media channels and help us raise awareness about Meta’s failure to protect teens!