SAN FRANCISCO — Temporary messaging app Snapchat introduced its first parental controls on Tuesday. This is because social media platforms face increased scrutiny for exposing young users to potentially harmful content.
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, said: blog post The new tool will allow parents to see who their teen has been friends with on the app and who they have been in contact with in the last seven days. Parents can also report an account their child is friends with if it violates her Snapchat policies. Parents cannot see their child’s conversations on the app.
To access the controls, you must create a Snapchat account and befriend the child who must consent to the controls. The company said it will introduce additional features later, such as the ability for parents to see who their child has recently befriended. can also do.
“Our goal was to create a suite of tools designed to reflect real-world relationship dynamics and foster collaboration and trust between parents and teens,” Snap said. Said in a blog post.
Social media companies such as Snap, Instagram and TikTok have faced questions from lawmakers, regulators and activists about toxic content on their platforms, with some young people saying the apps exacerbate eating disorders and others of mental health problems. Snap has also been criticized for letting teenagers buy drugs such as fentanyl on its app.
These issues came after a former Facebook employee released internal documents last year showing that some teenagers appeared to feel bad about themselves after using the company’s products, including Instagram. Executives from Instagram, Snap, TikTok and YouTube then testified before Congress about whether social media is harming young people. In March, a group of state attorneys general asked Snap and TikTok to tighten parental controls on their apps.
Some countries are taking action to protect young people from the influence of social media. In September, the UK enacted new child safety regulations, prompting platforms such as Instagram to introduce the first parental controls. can be restricted by
Snap has also recently suffered a decline in business. Last month, the company reported its slowest quarterly growth ever amid a softening economy and challenges to its advertising business.
Snapchat’s Parental Controls add to existing restrictions on how teenagers can use Snapchat. Teenagers currently have to be mutual friends to message on the app, and their profiles and friend lists are private. The app requires the user to be over the age of 13, and teenage users cannot change their birth year in the app until she is 18.
Parental controls are available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It will be available in other countries starting this fall.
