“It’s what we wanted,” says Utah lawmaker of Meta privacy changes

SALT LAKE CITY — On Sept. 17, Meta announced they’d made changes to all Instagram accounts created and owned by teenagers under age 18 and Utah lawmakers are applauding the move.

In a post on its website, Meta introduced Instagram Teen Accounts. These feature “built-in protections limiting who can contact [the teen account holder] and the content they see. They also provide new ways for teens to explore their interests. We’ll automatically place teens into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.”

 

Now, all accounts owned by users under 18 will default to the application’s “private” setting. Messages will only be exchanged between friends, and sensitive material will be limited.

Utah lawmakers welcomed the news. They told KSL NewsRadio they’d been asking for these kinds of changes from social media companies.

 

“One of my frustrations right from the start,” said Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, “is that a lot of the features that we were demanding were features that social media companies told us they could implement.”

In November 2022, Facebook, which is also owned by Meta, announced they’d make teen accounts “more private.”

In 2023, CNN reported that Snapchat announced a “suite” of new protection features, like restricting friend suggestions and a video series for parents explaining the site’s safety and parental control policies.

“They didn’t want to implement unless their competitors implemented similar features,” said McKell.

What impact will the Meta changes have in Utah and elsewhere?

Mckell said it’s too early to know the impact of Meta’s decision, but he remains optimistic.

“Let’s hope other social media companies follow Instagram. Maybe Instagram will be the leader on this … for me today, I think I’m optimistic. I think this is a really positive development.”

Comments from other Utah leaders echoed Sen. McKell’s. 

Gov. Spencer Cox asked Meta and other platforms to “continue to innovate and implement even stronger protections for minors.” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said that while he applauded Meta’s new safeguards, “[Utah] will continue pushing forward in our investigations, litigation, and demands to secure enforceable safety standards and healthy online environments for Utah’s children.”

And Margaret Bussee, the executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, said that “for [Meta’s] safety features to be truly effective, quality age assurance is an essential component.” That’s a nod to Utah’s currently enjoined social media law.  It would have, in part, implemented age verification requirements for all social media users.

Suggested related reading:

• Judge blocks Utah’s social media law
• Utah’s social media child protection law put on hold