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Thursday 19 sepTember 2024
Instagram makes teen accounts private as pressure mounts on the

app to protect children

Nick Clegg, Meta's presi-
Continued from Front dent of global affairs, said
last week that parents don't
"Even as Meta continues use the parental controls
to prioritize teen safety, it's the company has intro-
unlikely that it's going to duced in recent years.
make sweeping changes Meta's Gleit said she thinks
that would cause a major the teen accounts will in-
financial hit," she said, add- centivize parents to start
ing that the teen accounts using them.
are unlikely to significantly "Parents will be able to see,
affect how engaged teens via the family center, who
are with Instagram "not in is messaging their teen and
the least because there hopefully have a conver-
are still plenty of ways to sation with their teen," she
circumvent the rules, and said. "If there is bullying or
could even make them harassment happening,
more motivated to work parents will have visibility
around the age limits." into who their teen's follow-
New York Attorney General ing, who's following their
Letitia James said Meta's teen, who their teen has
announcement was "an messaged in the past seven
important first step, but days and hopefully have
much more needs to be Students use their cellphones as they leave for the day the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and some of these conversa-
done to ensure our kids are Performing Arts High School in downtown Los Angeles, Aug. 13, 2024. tions and help them navi-
protected from the harms Associated Press gate these really difficult
of social media." James' ple." of the announcement "on continue scrolling. situations online."
office is working with other "Today's PR exercise falls the eve of a House markup" That's unless the child's U.S. Surgeon General Vivek
New York officials on how short of the safety by design of the bill. parents turn on "parental Murthy said last year that
to implement a new state and accountability that "Just like clockwork, the Kids supervision" mode, where tech companies put too
law intended to curb chil- young people and their Online Safety Act moves parents can limit teens' time much responsibility on
dren's access to what critics parents deserve and only forward and industry comes on Instagram to a specific parents when it comes to
call addictive social media meaningful policy action out with a new set of self- amount of time, such as 15 keeping children safe on
feeds. can guarantee," she said. enforcing guidelines," she minutes. social media.
Others were more critical. "Meta's business model is said. With the latest changes, "We're asking parents to
Nicole Gil, the co-founder built on addicting its users In the past, Meta's efforts Meta is giving parents more manage a technology
and executive director of and mining their data for at addressing teen safety options to oversee their kids' that's rapidly evolving that
the nonprofit Accountable profit; no amount of paren- and mental health on its accounts. Those under 16 fundamentally changes
Tech, called Instagram's tal and teen controls Meta platforms have also been will need a parent or guard- how their kids think about
announcement the "latest is proposing will change met with criticism that ian's permission to change themselves, how they build
attempt to avoid actual in- that." the changes don't go far their settings to less restric- friendships, how they ex-
dependent oversight and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R- enough. For instance, while tive ones. They can do this perience the world — and
regulation and instead con- Tenn.), the co-author of the kids will get a notification by setting up "parental su- technology, by the way,
tinue to self-regulate, jeop- Kids Online Safety Act that when they've spent 60 min- pervision" on their accounts that prior generations nev-
ardizing the health, safety, recently passed the Sen- utes on the app, they will and connecting them to a er had to manage," Murthy
and privacy of young peo- ate, questioned the timing be able to bypass it and parent or guardian. said in May 2023.q

Work has begun on an inauguration

stage at the Capitol. The last one

became part of Jan. 6 attack

Wednesday at the U.S. Capi- direct mention was made the stage for the peaceful
tol with congressional leaders of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack transfer of power," said Sen.
pounding the first ceremonial where Trump's supporters Amy Klobuchar, the Minne-
nails into a stage they cast used pipes, lumber and other sota Democrat who chairs
as a symbol of America's materials from the inaugu- the joint committee over-
commitment to the peace- ration stage to attack law seeing preparations for the
ful transfer of power — a enforcement and halt the inauguration.
tradition that was almost up- certification of the election. Preparations for the last inau-
Congress members hammer in the first nails at the First Nail ended in 2021 when Donald But memories of that day, guration became an integral
Ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the 2025
Presidential Inauguration platform on the steps of the Capitol, Trump's supporters violently and heightened worries part of the violence that un-
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. stormed the Capitol. about violence in this year's folded at the Capitol on Jan.
Associated Press As Republican and Demo- tense election season after 6, 2021, with rioters swarming
cratic leaders gathered in the latest apparent assas- the stage and the tall press
By STEPHEN GROVES and WASHINGTON (AP) — Work a moment of bipartisanship sination attempt against platform that stands in front
MARY CLARE JALONICK on the presidential inau- with Washington's National Trump, shadowed the event. of it during their siege of the
Associated Press guration platform began Mall spread before them, no "These workers will literally set building. q