This archive report was first published on 7 December 2019.
December 7, 2019
Facebook and its family of apps, including Instagram, have taken significant steps to ensure users, especially young ones, feel safe from cyber dangers such as bullying, harassment, scams, and inappropriate content.
According to Mercy Ndegwa, the Head of Public Policy, East Africa region at Facebook, the company works with external experts and gathers feedback from its community to develop policies, tools, and resources to keep users safe.
Offline Rules Apply Online ¶
Facebook and Instagram have designed features to remind young users to be aware of who they're sharing information with, to only accept friend requests from people they know, and to know how to protect themselves online.
Parents also have a critical role to play in educating teenagers about online safety. Here are six tips to help them engage with their youth and discussions about online safety:
- Under 13s are not allowed on Facebook or Instagram. Facebook and Instagram require everyone to be 13 years old before they can create an account, and parents are encouraged to have these conversations with their teens.
- Let your teenager know that the same rules apply online as offline. This can help them avoid most potential dangers and concerns online by simply stopping to think before they submit a post or accept a friend request.
- Engage early. Research shows that many children as young as six have access to smartphones or tablets. Talk to them about technology before they are on social media.
- Help them to check and manage their privacy settings. Once your teen has set up a social media account, they can use Facebook privacy settings to control who can friend them, who can see their posts, and if they share details such as their location by default.
- Show them the tools they can use to filter content and people from their feeds. Instagram offers many flexible tools to keep teens safe online, including keyword filtering, bullying filtering, and sensitivity screens.
- Encourage them to report inappropriate content. Facebook has reporting tools that enable users to report any content that is inappropriate or makes them uncomfortable. Facebook has a dedicated team of content reviewers around the world who are available 24/7 to review and take action on reported content.
