Instagram will begin notifying parents “next week” if their teenagers “repeatedly try to search for terms related to suicide or self-harm” on the social network, the company controlled by Meta announced this Thursday, February 26th.
This measure will be activated for parents in the US, UK, Australia and Canada who use the social network’s parental control tools and will be available in other regions “later this year”.
“These alerts are designed to provide parents with the information they need to support their teens and include specialized resources to help them navigate these sensitive conversations.”the company said in a statement.
Instagram is currently facing several lawsuits for allegedly promoting harmful effects on the mental health of minors.
Searches that will trigger the alert include phrases that suggest a teen wants to self-harm and terms like “suicide” or “self-harm.”
Alerts will be sent to parents via email, SMS or WhatsApp, depending on available contact information, as well as via an in-app notification.
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