Meta launches Instagram teen accounts with parental controls in Sri Lanka

Colombo, July 30 (Daily Mirror) - Meta has officially launched supervised teen accounts on Instagram in Sri Lanka, introducing a range of parental control features designed to enhance online safety for young users, the Ministry of Digital Economy said.

The announcement was made at a special event held at the Ministry of Digital Economy, under the patronage of Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne.

The newly introduced teen account supervision tools are aimed at Instagram users aged 13 to 17. These features provide parents and guardians with enhanced oversight and control over their children’s activity on the platform. Key functionalities include access limited to pre-approved contacts, restricted messaging capabilities, control over exposure to sensitive content, interaction limits with unknown users, and the ability to set daily screen time limits.

The Ministry of Digital Economy said that the launch of supervised teen accounts marks a significant step toward addressing the growing need for child protection in the digital space. The initiative empowers families to foster safer, age-appropriate social media experiences and reflects a broader effort to promote responsible digital engagement in Sri Lanka.

Meta also announced that similar parental supervision capabilities will soon be extended to its other platforms, including Facebook and Messenger, expanding protection across its ecosystem.

In addition to launching the new feature, the event included discussions on Sri Lanka’s digital transformation and its alignment with international best practices in internet governance. Both the Ministry and Meta emphasized the importance of the country’s forthcoming data protection framework in securing the rights and safety of online users.

Sarim Aziz, Meta’s Director of Public Policy for South and Central Asia, highlighted the company’s global investment in technology, noting that Meta has committed USD 75 billion toward AI infrastructure. He also shared that Meta’s open-source Large Language Model, Llama, has surpassed 1.2 billion downloads worldwide, and over one billion users are currently benefiting from Meta’s AI-powered tools free of charge.