Instagram still poses risk to children despite new safety tools, says Meta whistleblower

According to recent research conducted by Arturo Béjar, former senior engineer at Meta and current whistleblower, despite the much-touted new security tools implemented within Instagram, both children and teenagers are still extremely at risk when using the platform in question. In 2024, the company introduced “teen” accounts, which are treated differently from normal profiles, with greater protection for young users, but without success.

This measure proved to be ineffective, and due to Meta's constant lack of transparency, the company often tends to act behind the scenes, modifying or directly removing most of these “protections” without giving any explanation or, more importantly, presenting a viable alternative.

Béjar's statement was subsequently highlighted by several representatives of this important movement aimed at protecting young people on social media, led by parents and adults concerned about the psychological health of their children. The Office of Communications and the British government subsequently demonstrated their support for the statements made in the case.