Meta’s top brands, including Facebook and Instagram, have lately been under fire for being unable to provide sufficient child safety measures on its social media platforms. Government reports, as well as media investigations coming predominantly from the Wall Street Journal, have put another layer of shade over the Bay Area tech giant.
Unveiling troubling findings
While the findings did not cause a wave of advertisers to part ways with the social media platforms, the multiple reports certainly attracted the public’s attention. The reports of Meta’s brands struggling to deal with pedophiles and even, in some cases, algorithms intentionally steering predators toward children have undoubtedly resonated with the people. Wall Street Journal released findings claiming that Instagram delivers a toxic mix of videos to adults who follow underage individuals.
Mark Zuckerberg’s conglomerate has heard the public and government pressure as the company recently reacted by publishing a blog post describing how they plan to tackle the existing problems. Meta said that they plan on improving their recommendations and discovery strategies. Also, they will strengthen the enforcement of child safety protection measures already in place.
Meta also says it implemented new techniques to restrict potential predators and remove their networks and groups. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify before the Senate next month.
TikTok on the spotlight
Meta is not the only social media platform getting heat from the public – TikTok has also been under scrutiny for being a playground for child predators since its inception – there are certainly things parents should know about the Chinese-owned popular app.
The broader context: child safety in the digital age
Child safety has been a hot topic this year after the independent movie ‘Sound of Freedom’ earned a quarter of a billion worldwide and is on track to getting a spot in the top ten highest-grossing films in the USA for 2023. The movie that won the hearts of many Americans depicts the true story of a federal agent rescuing a boy from ruthless child traffickers.
Empowering parents through cybersecurity
Some of the latest and greatest solutions in the consumer cybersecurity industry often include parental controls that help parents do their part of making sure little rascals remain in a safe digital environment. Antivirus software with such capabilities is strongly recommended for kid devices connected to the internet.
The better protection children have, the lower the odds of becoming victims of cybercrime or getting the attention of predators.