Instagram this week introduced mandatory accounts for teens that strengthen privacy protections, enable parental supervision, and restrict notifications during overnight hours.

Instagram announced that it will automatically create "Teen Accounts" for all users under the age of 18, both new and existing.

The move comes 16 months after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a warning in an advisory that excessive social media could pose a “profound risk” to the mental health of children. Instagram also has faced pressure from some federal and state lawmakers seeking to regulate social media use among children and teens.

Experts who spoke to
differed about whether Meta's new restrictions for teen users would effectively mitigate the risks that young Instagram users face.

Some experts commended the safeguards as a meaningful, though incomplete, step toward protecting teenagers from harm. Others argued that the lack of strong age verification account measures would allow young users to bypass the rules, making the new settings largely ineffective.

In response to an
request for comment, Meta said the company is expanding its efforts to verify the age of teen users.

"We’re requiring teens to verify their age in new ways. For example, if they attempt to create a new account with an adult birthday, we will require them to verify their age in order to use the account," Meta spokesperson Dani Lever told
.

"We also aim to be more proactive in identifying accounts belonging to teens, even if the account lists an adult birthday. We're developing technology to proactively identify these teenagers and apply the same protections offered by Teen Account settings," Lever added.

One expert argued that the restrictions might go too far, potentially limiting teenagers' freedom of expression and putting them under the control of parents they may disagree with on fundamental aspects of their identity.

“We need to be conscientious about the content that platforms are showing kids and how that can shape offline attitudes and behaviors,” Jon-Patrick Allem, a professor of public health at Rutgers University, told
. Allem added that he is reserving judgment until the changes receive further examination.

The introduction of Teen Accounts was announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a live interview on Tuesday on " Good Morning America ."

"These are automatic safeguards for teenagers designed to proactively address the top concerns parents have expressed about their online activity," Mosseri said on "GMA." "Features like who can contact them, the content they see, and how much time they spend on their device ... all without requiring any parental involvement."

New teen users will be automatically enrolled in Teen Accounts, and existing teen users will see their accounts transition to the new model within 60 days, Mosseri said on "GMA."

The new accounts will automatically place users under 18 years old into a private account, the company stated. Users under age 16 will need parental consent to switch to a public account. Under the private account setting, teenagers will need to specifically approve new followers, and only those followers will be able to see their content and interact with them.

With the new accounts, teens will also have the ability to select the age-appropriate topics they want to see more of on Instagram, such as sports or art. Parents will also be able to see the topics their teenagers choose, according to Instagram.

Jonathan Haidt , a social psychologist at New York University and author of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” offered lukewarm praise for the restrictions in a post on X on Tuesday.

“I am cautiously optimistic about Meta’s new teen accounts,” Haidt said. “Most of the problems with social media will still affect teens on Instagram. But this is a positive step, and I hope it is just the first of many from Meta.”

Paul Barrett, a professor at New York University Law School and deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, acknowledged that some of the Instagram changes would mitigate harm endured by teens on the platform. However, he added that the move would likely have little impact in the absence of better age verification measures to ensure that teens enroll in the Teen Accounts.

“This points in the right direction,” Barrett told
. But, he added: “None of this is very meaningful until the company does something about age and identity verification. All of the other requirements become ineffective if kids just pretend that they’re adults.”

At least one expert said the changes risk causing some harm by putting too many restrictions on teen Instagram users. For instance, a child’s parents may have different views about fundamental questions of identity, such as whether one should believe in god, Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law who studies content moderation, told
. The increased parental supervision in the new accounts could enable such parents to limit their child’s personal growth, he added.

“Parents might have standards about certain behavior for their children,” Goldman said. “This might restrict self-expression and self-discovery.”

Generally, some children would likely benefit from the modifications, while others could experience detrimental effects, he added.

“Different age groups of children have distinct needs,” Goldman remarked. “If a one-size-fits-all solution is implemented, some children will likely benefit while others may be negatively affected,” although he acknowledged that Instagram has the authority to make changes that it considers appropriate.

In response to such criticism, Meta asserted that the company engaged with relevant stakeholders to achieve a balance between user experience and parental involvement.

"We collaborated with parents, teenagers, and specialists throughout the development of Teen Accounts. With these modifications, parents have the authority to determine if teens under 16 can alter the default settings," explained Lever of Meta. "This enables teenagers to utilize social media for connecting with friends, exploration, and discovery, while providing parents with reassurance that their children have the appropriate safeguards in place."

“If Instagram is implementing this because they believe it’s in the best interest of their users, I support their right to establish policies and approaches that they deem suitable,” Goldman stated.

' Katie Kindelan contributed to this report.